CHICAGO – In the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, State Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) partnered with Social Change to donate food and PPE at the Greater Harvest Missionary Baptist Church.

“People are still struggling to protect themselves from this virus while awaiting the wide distribution of the vaccine,” Hunter said. “PPE is still needed, and people are still in need of other basic necessities like food. Everyone loves to quote Dr. King, but those who follow in his footsteps are not as common.”

Hunter’s district office staff gave away packages of PPE and meals to over 150 families in partnership with Social Change. The meals consisted of breakfast sausages, fruits, vegetables, milk, eggs and cheese. Social Change is a Chicago organization dedicated to disrupting the legacy of systemic injustice through organizing, direct action, policy advocacy, and storytelling.

Since COVID-19 emerged last year, more than 16,000 Illinoisans have died, which disproportionately includes people of color, the elderly and the poor. Many communities in Chicago’s South and Westside communities have been the hardest hit by the virus, as they already struggled with high rates of unemployment and health access for the last several decades.

Hunter has spent her legislative career trying to fix these disparities, most recently supporting a massive anti-racism agenda to bridge gaps in health care and economic access across communities.

“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, ‘There is nothing new about poverty. What is new, however, is that we have the resources to get rid of it.’ We should all do our part to help those in need, not just on holidays, but as a lifestyle.” Hunter said. “I am committed to continuing the fight against poverty and systemic injustice, and I won’t stop working until such disparities don’t exist.”