“The Chi,” which is set to run on Showtime and is produced by Chicago native and Emmy winner Lena Waithe, depicts life and its challenges on the South Side of Chicago. Neighbors questioned why the items weren’t donated to a shelter or food pantry to benefit local families in need.
“It is so shameful that a company like this is profiting off of a show about the hardships and struggles … living individuals face living in Chicago,” wrote Jayleen Sandoval, a neighbor of the set, on Facebook. “It is even more shameful that the company failed to recognize that all the food and items they simply tossed could have been donated to the numerous shelters around the Chicagoland area INCLUDING the South Side.”
“Hey, someone can eat that”
The fake store has been in use since at least mid-June, but creators of “The Chi” finished filming there this week, and the show’s very real props were apparently thrown out Monday.
The trashed props — which had lined the “store’s” shelves — included everything from canned tuna to sponges, cleaning supplies, diapers, condoms and snacks. It “hurt” to see how disposable everything was to the show’s staff, said Kimberly Camacho, a Harold Washington College student who lives near the set. Camacho is a roommate of Sandoval.
“It felt like they just got what they wanted and left,” Camacho said. “I felt insulted.”
Representatives from the show did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Camacho, her roommate and their neighbors weren’t going to let the items go to waste: They got into the dumpster and grabbed the items that hadn’t been opened and contaminated. Camacho estimated the dumpster held enough items to help 40 families.
Children poked around the dumpster, grabbing food for their families and avoiding trash and broken glass as adults told them what they should take, Camacho said. Camacho and her roommate were the only ones with flashlights, so they used their lights to help neighbors find items they needed. Camacho also grabbed food for people standing outside the dumpster, and residents helped each other get into and out of the dumpster so they could search.
“I just don’t understand how they can film about the South Side struggle and then not help the struggle,” Camacho said. “I just don’t understand what happened, what went through [the show organizers’] heads when they threw that all away. How did no one on the team be like, ‘Hey, someone can eat that’?
“It just seemed like common sense to give it to someone. … How do you become so entitled that you think it’s best or easier to throw it away and that it’s not worth the effort to give that food to someone in need?”
Camacho was able to get a packet of sponges she’s wanted but has hesitated to buy because money is tight and there’s few places where she can find sponges in the area. Laughing, she explained the pack of sponges make her feels like “we’re set for life.”
“I was able to fill up two bags of food,” Camacho said.
Photos show her haul: Hamburger Helper, oatmeal, granola bars, cleaning wipes, flour and more.
“When they threw away that stuff, it was basically like having a pantry in my yard. It should have been in a pantry in the first place or a woman’s shelter — anything would have been better than” throwing it out.
