The volunteers of the Greater Chicago Food Depository received a welcomed surprise Tuesday (Nov. 22) when former President Barack Obama rolled up his sleeves, put on some gloves, and helped the men and women prepare for Thanksgiving.
“This is a spiffy place you got here,” Obama said as he walked into the facility.
Forty-Four was in his hometown for the second annual Obama Foundation Summit in which he spoke passionately about the change the country needs and the importance of investing in people.
The 60 or so volunteers packed food to be sent to their network of more than 700 community distribution centers throughout Chicago and Cook County. The depository serves about 159,000 meals every day.
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Obama and Michael Strautmanis, the chief engagement officer for the Obama foundation, didn’t arrive empty-handed, bringing groceries before assisting with the potatoes.
After introducing himself to the other volunteers, Obama began chatting up a young man asking him the proper way to pack the potatoes.
While Obama assisted volunteers, former First Lady Michelle Obama continues to tour the country in promotion of her bestselling book Becoming. The memoir reportedly 725,000 copies in the first day and have sold 1.4 million copies in a week.
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