Residents upset after “The Chi” dumps food they did not donate

Courtesy Kimberly Camacho and Jayleen Sandoval

“The Chi,” a TV show that’s gotten flak for throwing away a dumpster full of food and household items in a West Side food desert says that the food had expired and wasn’t safe to eat.

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But those who picked through the dumpster to find items they could bring home to their families – neighbors – said that’s not true and continued to question why the food wasn’t donated.

The set at 19th Street and Kedzie Avenue was designed to look like a corner store and has been in use since at least mid-June. Filming finished and the set’s very real props were apparently thrown out Monday.

Courtesy Frank Bergh

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Jayleen Sandoval and her roommate, Kimberly Camacho, live next door to the North Lawndale set and joined other residents, including children, in going through the dumpster to find food and household supplies on Monday. They took home a variety of items, including flour, dish soap, sponges and granola bars.

“Their expiration date isn’t until a very long time,” a University of Illinois at Chicago student who works two jobs, said Sandoval.

Courtesy Frank Bergh, Kimberly Camacho and Jayleen Sandoval

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43 percent of households live below the poverty line in North Lawndale and the food that was thrown out by the show can be hard to buy in that area as many don’t have easy access to grocery stores. Residents were already frustrated after mistaking the set for a real, new store in the summer.

Courtesy Kimberly Camacho and Jayleen Sandoval]

Set to run on Showtime “The Chi,” is produced by Chicago native and Emmy winner Lena Waithe. It will depict life and its challenges on the South Side of Chicago.

The Showtime spokeswoman in an email on Wednesday night said the items that were thrown out were “for filming purposes only and were never intended or maintained for consumption.” The spokeswoman said “most of the items” were expired and had been contaminated by rodents.

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