I am so glad I came! I volunteered through a face-book event and I was so elated doing it. I was a…read morelittle hesitant but screw it, its about doing things for others once in a while and just enjoying it. I usually do not like to talk about the good one does, but in this case, its more-so for the fact that others can join in and help them out when the need arises. If a teenager has to do volunteer hours this is the perfect opportunity to do so. I was put in the kitchen to cut up veggies and help make the GIGANTIC VAT of spaghetti. I mean this thing fed the 188 people we served just that afternoon. Seriously, it was something of a feat to see this. I didn't think it was actually going to feed everyone in the hall, but wow if it did! I helped prep the salad, spaghetti and even the desserts. I have to admit, I was so happy I went. And although it was hard work, the workers made it fun and exciting if that can be stated. They are a non for profit organization that gets donations of food from all over, and just recently started getting food donated from Aldi, YES ALDI! 7 days a week they feed the hungry and NEVER turn anyone away. Some guy (who I heard is a regular) came in with his 2 liter of soda already ready for the nights food. And you would think that a they would serve small portions, but no, these portions were fit for a football player. I mean seriously big portions. Then at the end of the night, (Food is served from 5-6 and stops after that), a take home bag is given to everyone which could consist of produce and a whole bag is what they give. Not one pack, a WHOLE BAG. Nutritious foods that some of the participants probably would never get access too. Not to mention that I was told by one of the cooks that people from far away south come for this and they are fine with that. What a wonderful thing to see, and I hope that this review will encourage others to volunteer their time at least once, to give back something to the communities that so need it. Parking down the block is free on Paulina, but if you park in front, its metered. I choose this so be prepared.

Feeding Hungry people all year round is not a Joke but this organization has been doing it…read moreeffortlessly.Glad to get a chance to volunteer as part of "Yelp Takeover event". They feed nutritious dinner 365 days which is really commendable. Apart from feeding homeless,veterans this organization also does social projects like Micro lending,Mentoring kids and guiding them in education. The place is spacious enough for feeding 50-60 people at one go. They have a big kitchen and counter to serve food.Rest Rooms are clean . Tammy, the staff is very friendly.This place is 5 min walk from Howard CTA station incase if you want to volunteer or donate.It is always good to spare time for less privileged. You can donate your money/time.Gift Donation is tax deductible. Helping Hands are better than Praying Lips-Mother Theresa.

This is a food bank for the poor and in need and they accept volunteers all the time to help with…read morethe massive work of sorting donated food to be distributed to those in need. You can come on a weekend and work in their warehouse of food and sort the food by dates to make sure old food or opened packages don't get sent to those in need by mistake. Old food (that is close to the sell by date) is sent to the local zoos to help defray costs and waste.

From the owner: Our vision at Northern Illinois Food Bank is for everyone in Northern Illinois to have the food…read morethey need to thrive. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and proud member of Feeding America, we serve our neighbors in 13 counties with dignity, equity and convenience, providing 250,000 meals a day. We bring together manufacturers, local & corporate grocers, area farmers, corporations, foundations, and individuals who donate food and funding, and each week volunteers help us evaluate, repack, and distribute food. We also proudly partner with more than 900 food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and youth & senior feeding programs to provide nutritious food & resources. Distribution centers are located in Geneva, Park City, Rockford and Joliet.

Awesome service pantry is very neat clean food is good. The food is up-to-date. Sometimes most of…read morethe time I recommend this place to you.

They are very friendly, kind, helpful, and quick! They make the food pantry experience a pleasant…read moreone!

A great local Ravenswood / Lincoln Square organization helping to serve the underserved and hungry…read morein the area. By working with shipping volunteers (among others), shoppers are able to pick out food with dignity. I've only volunteered here once so far but I think they're doing some really good work. Sign up to volunteer via their website!

The Friendship Center is doing some good things for three community…read more I've always wanted to help out my neighbors by volunteering, and what a pleasure it has been to dedicate my time here. TFC treats all shoppers with dignity and respect and does it's best to provide a much-needed service to those in need. Operating in 4-hour increments, shoppers have the opportunity to pick out their choice of groceries from an assortment of items. Shopping volunteers guide them around the pantry and bag the items for the shoppers. Hot meals and delivery meals are also provided on occasion. I encourage anyone interested in volunteering to come by and help out. It could not be easier or more fun. I also encourage anyone in need to check to the website to see if they qualify.

Love the staff members. Appreciate the service and quality of foods given!…read morePeace & B Great!!!!

Awesome service by awesome people Best food bank…read moreever!!!!!!! They are awesome to me. I believe they saved lives during Covid. I know they helped out my family ..thank you!!!!

My job gave us a day off to come and volunteer @ The GCFD. This was a great opportunity to support…read moreand help out those in needs. Everyone was friendly, helpful and productive. We all worked hard as a team to accomplish our goal of feeding over 2,700 families. This place is outstanding. Very clean and organized. I enjoyed lending my time for such an amazing and precious organization. I look forward to volunteering here again.

I was invited to volunteer for a team outing at this facility and I was surprised how beautiful…read morethis facility is exterior and internally. Plenty of parking and there is only one stall for EV charging. Inside you are greeted and checking-in is easy. They have you gather inside a locker area where you will have to put in small lockers your personal items before you get dressed appropriately. I was dressed in a plastic apron and gloves for onion packaging. This was a very fun event to help out. I would come back to volunteer again.

New location on Lincoln Avenue is big and beautiful. We dropped off food donations and were warmly…read moregreeted by volunteers. The operation appeared well staffed and very busy, which made my heart happy. Donations were being sorted and I was so impressed by the organization of tasks, volunteers and efficiency of the facility.

Common Pantry is the best pantry that I have received food from the director Ms. Margaret is very…read morenice and the volunteers are nice and friendly. Quick service great atmosphere I thank God for them they help a lot of people, please check them out they are very professional and helpful. I have spread the word to friends and family.

I was at Care for Real this evening at Rogers Park Location between Morse and Ashland Street. A…read moreStaff Name Caroline Covarrubias her position is Billingual Programs Associate at Care For Real. She is very rude and condescending most of the time, She has preferences on people when to talk appropriate but others people she talks to them in rude way and unkind manner. She needs to improve on her people skills and social skills and treat everyone with respect and equally. In my opinion she does not fit in her position if she is going to continue in that way or choose another job where she doesnt have to deal with people. Also this place have limits to distribute the food most to certain people. Who gets what? Most of the time the food is expired. Need more training to the management personnel and also training on Staff's.

Evanston Animal Shelter is a top-notch animal shelter that truly cares about rescues. They're…read moreprofessional and conscientious. If something were to happen to me, and with no other options, I have confidence that my beloved dog would be taken care of conscientiously by Evanston Animal Shelter.

I would like to give them one star for ghosting people on phone calls and emails, as I and others…read morehave had happen, but since they do take care of some animals, and I do like animals, I will show them some mercy . Considering that they got over 6 million dollars from the City of Evanston, I am very unhappy with their poor communications and the fact that they are only open to the public for about 2 hours a day. One of the two cats I adopted turned out to have obstructive airway disease and since they were in charge of my two cats for months, one would have thought that would have been disclosed. The medication cost over $2,000 that first year because what was prescribed was not off patent and the cat was too obese to take prednisolone safely. Why was my cat obese? Ask them. Further when I asked if I could donate the huge cat carriers back to them and some food bowls they gave me (since I already had those items) they refused them as if they have all the money in the world to buy new supplies, other shelters would have jumped at the opportunity, a donation in kind of about $100. I applied to volunteer and heard nothing from them for over 2 months after emailing and messaging them following up on my status, to no avail, until I had to actually go in there to find out what was happening. I could go on but in my opinion this is an organization that is not managed well and they could do much more with the funds that they have been given. I'm pretty sure, imho, that they will ask some pals or cronies to add some high star reviews to try to balance out the negative ones, of which there are quite a few, but all I can do is try to get them to get their act together there by posting this. Finally, as to others here saying that some people there are rude, I completely agree. It is not a pleasant experience. If they try to get more taxpayer funding without improvement of their management, I intend to go down to City Hall to cite my many reservations about this organization. Update on 2/18/25: I stand by my review in spite of the response from EAS: To EAS I respond as follows: Unfortunately the cats were obese from a medical standpoint so you may want to consult with a veterinarian on animal obesity. I note that you did not post the photo of one of them I emailed to you after he had some cat nip the first night I got them, but chose the "skinny" video :) so I posted my photo of one of the big boys I adopted. Further, it is my understanding that my cats were elsewhere in foster care under your auspices until they were put into my care as fosters. If you take no responsibility for their care when at foster locations, that could be problematic, especially for them, since you foster out many animals. As to communications issues: I sent an email Sept 8, 2021 asking about a vet. No response to that. I found a vet myself and did not contact you again until early Dec this year when I put in a volunteer application. No response to that. On Jan 7, I sent a followup email asking the status. No response to that. After that I wrote a msg to your Facebook page. A day or two later someone answered and said she would follow up with the dog volunteer area. I waited approximately a week and still had no answer. I wrote again to see if anyone heard from the dog volunteer group, but received no reply. Growing quite annoyed with the runaround, a few days ago I decided to walk over to EAS and find out what was going on, which I did. I told The person there, also the person who did not answer my email of Sept 8, 2021 that I had emailed and messaged and gotten no reply so decided to walk in. He told me I must be mistaken as EAS has no email address posted on its website and was rather brusque (rude, in my perception in addition to being uninformed) gave me no apology and then insisted I must have emailed a vet with a similar practice name to EAS. He subsequently agreed to follow up, nevertheless. Moreover, with regard to my claim of poor communication, there was a post on your facebook page not long ago telling the public that people have been rude to EAS staff/volunteers when they don't get back to them and how they shouldn't be because everyone is so busy( too busy to hire volunteers who might answer phones, I guess.) If EAS cannot acknowledge the problem, it certainly will not be fixed. Re: funding: So it didn't go into your pocket, you say, but why spend 6 million dollars so you can be open approximately 2 hours a day to the public? I certainly hope the number of adoptions skyrocket going forward , you train people not to be rude (as mentioned here and elsewhere in reviews) and you answer communications because certainly the Evanston taxpayers should see something for their generous funding of your large facility.