On a blustery afternoon on Chicago's West Side, Beverly Harris waited in line outside Harmony Community Church for her turn to select from bags of apples and cartons of eggs, romaine lettuce and puff pastries from the food pantry in the church’s basement.
Though she had never needed to get food at a pantry before, Harris, a West Side resident, started coming about two months ago. Now, she visits the pantry most Wednesdays. The cost of everything is high. Every week, Harris said, it seems like the line outside the church gets longer and longer.
“Everybody needs help that I know of,” she said. Harris always leaves the pantry with enough food, and when she has more than enough, she shares with other people who need it, she said.