Spread the Love.

Hello! My name is Riley and although I may be a little biased having lived in and around Chicago my entire life, I freaking love this city! Yeah, it has it's problems, quite a few actually, but then I think about all of the wonderful people in it and the potential that each and every one of them hold. I also love the Chicago winters. The bitter cold and tons of snow make me feel absolutely alive! Yeah yeah yeah, I know what you're thinking, "This dude's out of his mind!" Although you're probably not far off, can you blame me? I just try to live every day appreciating all of the beautiful things around me and absorbing what the world has to offer.

Something changed for me this winter though. My love for winter remained, but the actualization hit me of the brutality of Chicago winters for lower income families and more specifically the hundreds of homeless in Chicago. My emotions quickly went from overwhelming helplessness to humanistic actualization. I'm a college kid, I have a very minimal disposable income, how could I possibly help all of the suffering people in Chicago, that may or may not make it through the next night? I couldn't possibly, there's no way. But if I put the amount of money that I spent on one weekend of drinking towards making sandwiches, I could give at least twenty people a dinner. Who knows, maybe that could give some people the energy to make it through another bitter Chicago night, or at least make it a little more tolerable. Of coarse this is a very limited and temporary solution, but none the less a solution better than just sitting on the couch.

Many of the people that I met on the streets were ecstatic, others reluctant, but nobody denied. Some people even asked for an extra for a family member. I made the sandwiches one evening and then handed them out the next day. It didn't take up much of my time and I was able to help some people while embracing my passion for cooking and food.

During this evening I ran into a friend and fellow Columbia photography student, Cooper. Cooper thought it was a fantastic idea and while hanging out recently, he brought that evening up and said that he couldn't stop thinking about it and wanted to broaden the idea. So we came up with the plan to create a blog to promote the idea. So here at Sandwich Love, our hope is to create a monthly sandwich day in which people take to the streets to personally make a difference. In later posts we will also provide recipe ideas, sanitation and safety tips, and hopefully get some interesting feedback from people that have gone out and done the same. The homeless don't only suffer during the winter and they definitely don't only reside in Chicago. If all goes well, this idea will take root in cities nation wide. Our philosophy here is that food not only fills the stomach, but it also enriches the soul and brings people together. Me and Cooper are very excited to make this a regular part of our lives, and we hope that you are just as excited to make this a part of your own.

As of now, the first ever Sandwich Love Day is planned for Friday, May 1st 2009. Expect the first friday of every month to be the regular Sandwich Love Day and make sure to keep an eye out for updates. We will be updating a lot right up until the 1st.

  Food. Love. Life.

  

  -Riley