Help Us Fight Hunger this Holiday Season

Make a Food or Financial Donation through December 7
By BOMA/Chicago

Each year, the Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD) provides meals for 1 in 6 residents living in Cook County. This translates into 810,000+ men, women and children.

The JLL property management team at the Civic Opera Building (20 North Wacker).

For those of us in the CRE industry, food insecurity may be a distant thought. Many of our business discussions, meetings and transactions occur over meals. But for many people across the Chicagoland area, planning the next meal is a stressful thought. Food is weighed on a scale of importance – the question is not which restaurant to try next, but whether or not to pay for food or utilities instead.

BOMA/Chicago helps the food insecure of Chicago answer that question by rallying behind the annual GCFD Holiday Food Drive. This year marks the tenth anniversary that we have partnered with the GCFD on this initiative. During these ten years, we have collected over 740,000 pounds of food. This year, 155 BOMA/Chicago buildings have united to reach of a goal of collecting 120,000 pounds through physical and financial donations. Our generous members and their building tenants demonstrate a passion year after year to help feed Chicagoland – and because of this, we expect to exceed our 120,000-pound goal.

We are only two weeks into the food drive and many buildings have already emptied their large donation barrels multiple times. This is the case for the Civic Opera building at 20 North Wacker (managed by JLL). Other BOMA/Chicago buildings are encouraging their tenants to host unique games and competitions to drive donations, such as the Harris Bank Building at 115 South LaSalle (managed by Hines). The Hines management team has shared great ideas with their tenants as a way to increase donations, such as Denim Days and hosting a lottery.

You can lend a helping hand by making a donation through December 7. If you want to make a physical or financial donation, visit this webpage to find a list of participating locations. You can drop of food donations at building lobbies or click on a building link to make a financial donation ($1 =3.6 pounds; $1 = 3 meals). Financial contributions are recommended, as the GCFD is able to buy nutritious food in bulk at lower prices.

For more information about the drive, including tips to engage tenants, please visit our website: https://www.bomachicago.org/gcfd-food-drive