Restaurant owner delivers meals to seniors

Lewis Edwards, Jr., owner of I’m Soul Hungry, (pictured) said he got the idea to deliver food to seniors after visiting his mother in an assisted living facility. Photo courtesy of Lewis Edwards,Jr.
Lewis Edwards, Jr., owner of I’m Soul Hungry, (pictured) said he got the idea to deliver food to seniors after visiting his mother in an assisted living facility. Photo courtesy of Lewis Edwards,Jr.

Restaurant owner delivers meals to seniors

BY TIA CAROL JONES

In the midst of COVID-19 and after Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that restaurants and bars would be closed for dine-in patrons until March 30, business owners like Lewis Edwards, Jr., owner of I’m Soul Hungry, located on 2043 W. Howard St., stepped up to fill the gap.

Recently, Edwards delivered meals to seniors in facilities who were not able to go out.

He said he got the idea when he visited his mother at the assisted living facility she lives in before the governor and mayor issued the stay at home order. “I ended up seeing other seniors that didn’t have anybody dropping off anything. That just prompted the idea to deliver food to seniors,” he said.

Edwards posted a message on Facebook stating: “As is the tradition in our families, we at I’m Soul Hungry are prioritizing the care of our seniors. Effectively immediately, we will offer a new Seniors Only Menu with ½ off everything with free delivery to all seniors age 60 and older.”

Edwards said he wasn’t looking for donations, but people started to do just that.

“When I did that, people just went berserk and just started donating,” he said. Edwards said people ended up donating $2,500 for dinner deliveries and about 230 dinners were delivered.

As far as how the meal deliveries went, Edwards said he received a “great response.” And that came from both the seniors who received the deliveries and from their families. They were all appreciative he said, especially since the seniors’ mobility is currently limited due to the coronavirus.

Edwards said he initially started with the seniors who would come into the restaurant to eat after church on Sunday, then he expanded the reach.

“You’ve got to go to the senior homes and take care of them because they don’t have anybody. And nobody is reaching out to them. It’s just a sad situation for all of us. Just a sad situation for everybody involved,” he said.

After a few days of doing deliveries to seniors, Edwards said he decided to extend the discount on food to his other patrons, but he will still just deliver food to seniors.

“Now because there are people who used to come into my restaurant and spend $60-$70, and now they’ve been laid off and can’t do anything. So, I just tried to reach out to them too and extend the same courtesy,” he said.

Edwards said he is happy to do it, adding “I’m just thanking God I’m even in a position to be able to do it. I’ve already been blessed, I’ve had an amazing year. I’m truly blessed,” he said.

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