Programs

Northside P.O.W.E.R.
Northside P.O.W.E.R. (People Organized to Work, Educate and Restore) is an institution-based people’s power organization whose members are located in the North Side of the City of Chicago and North Shore Communities.  Northside P.O.W.E.R. works on issues that address the causes of hunger and poverty.  Currently Northside P.O.W.E.R. is working in the areas of affordable housing and food justice.

Northside P.O.W.E.R. was created in 2004, as a result of a strategic planning process undertaken by A Just Harvest’s board of directors. Reflecting upon the fact that the numbers of hungry people have continued to increase in recent years, the board decided that the organization needed to do go beyond feeding people to address the causes of hunger and poverty.

For more information about Northside P.O.W.E.R.’s current activities, click here.

The Community Kitchen
A Just Harvest’s Community Kitchen began as a ministry of the Good News Community Church (United Church of Christ) in 1983.  In the beginning, we served meals a few days per week. Today, with the help of more than 40 partnering organizations and nearly 10,000 volunteer hours, our Community Kitchen is the largest and only self-standing community soup kitchen in the Chicago metro area.  We serve hot, nutritious meals 365 days per year to anyone in need.  Last year, the Community Kitchen served more than 54,000 meals. For more information about volunteering, click here.

The Community Kitchen also distributes several thousand pounds of food each month by hosting the Greater Chicago Food Depository’s Producemobile which distributes fruit and vegetables to more than 200 families each month.

The Childrens’ Anti-Hunger Collaborative, meets the nutritional needs of children by:

• Enhancing the food and nutrition component of both the Howard Area Community Center’s Greensleeves After-School Project and the Good News Reading Program;
• Hosting the City of Chicago’s Summer Nutrition Program; and,
• Operating a free hot lunch program for school age children during the school’s winter and spring breaks.

The Genesis Project, the community and economic development component to the overall mission and vision of A Just Harvest, seeks to create meaningful opportunities for the community.

Currently The Genesis Project is working in four areas:

Creating an Aquaponics Social Enterprise – that will place 5-7 North of Howard young adults into a two year rotating apprenticeship that will give them the skills and experience needed to enter the growing market of urban agriculture.  The first apprentice is scheduled to begin work June 27^th with Loyola University’s Center for Urban Environmental Research and Policy.

Implementing the Micro-lending Program – which has been established to provide access to credit to people traditionally underserved by credit markets, enhance their fiscal responsibility and help them avoid predatory lending services.

Further strengthening our Community-Based Learning Partnerships – which currently include students from DePaul University, Loyola University, Chicago Theological Seminary and the University of Chicago.  Students are engaged in community organizing, creating safe and sacred space for patrons and the wider community and providing an array of volunteer services.

Developing a Food Justice Task Force – which will work to address issues of access to healthy foods, engage in local and regional food policy efforts and organize to close the ever increasing “food gap.