In 2009 Martha Bayne was bartending at the Hideout and had been working with the community meal and hunger-relief fundraiser Soup & Bread over the winter. Bayne, Sheila Sachs, and Ben Helphand began brainstorming ways to keep the momentum of Soup & Bread going well into the summer. “I suggested salad and bread,” says Helphand, executive director of NeighborSpace, which is a nonprofit that preserves and supports gardens in the city. “Martha said that was a terrible idea and suggested veggie bingo!” Since 2009—with one year as an exception—Veggie Bingo has been kicking off in the middle of June and running through Labor Day.
When folks win at bingo, they get a prize (winners get a selection of pickles, jams, hot sauce, and, for the grand prize, a basket of vegetables), and the money they put towards participating (donations of $5 to $10, or however much you want to give, are suggested) helps out a community garden or food pantry that is involved. This year, Veggie Bingo has selected gardens and farms that prioritize hyperlocal food like Star Farm Chicago, Bronzeville Neighborhood Farm, and 71st and Crandon Organic Garden. Grand prize vegetables are donated and delivered by Irv and Shelly’s Fresh Picks.
When players are muted during the game, Cline says that “there’s this whole screen of quiet earnest faces playing bingos in their homes, their basements, their porches. Everybody’s smiling, laughing, but silently. Pets and children will walk across the screen. Sometimes the bingo caller will have people ‘show and tell’ their pets. Other players will try to guess the names of the pet in the chat.” It becomes more of a personal experience despite players being unable to connect physically and in person.
