In “Chicago! A Mutual Aid Story,” co-writer and director Felicity Daleccio highlights how the community group Cycling x Solidarity fights hunger by teaming up with the Chicago chapter of Burrito Brigade. The partnership is one segment of the 75-minute film discussing how mutual aid efforts can answer the failures of capitalism.
Daleccio opens the film with an overview of how many of the most pressing and complex issues of our time - climate change, social unrest, and economic uncertainty - can be traced back to economic inequality, exploitation of labor, and resource management. They state, "If the problem is treating humans like resources, the problem statement itself also describes the solution itself, treating humans as humans equipped with basic freedoms and a natural desire to care for each other."
Cycling x Solidarity, founded early in the Covid pandemic, has been demonstrating this care by stocking and cleaning Love Fridges - the sidewalk mutual-aid mini-food pantries, also established during the pandemic in response to growing food insecurity.
Rick, who runs the Cycling x Solidarity Instagram account and is affiliated with several other biking organizations in Chicago, talks about the formation of the group. After moving to Chicago at the start of the pandemic, he noticed that there wasn't a public calendar of group bike rides, so he created one.
"So that just kind of grew and grew. Burrito Brigade needed help with distributions," Rick recounts. "I could put it on my page. I could bring people together. We could do it via bike. And so it's just kind of organically grown into a community space where cycling is at its core."
The Burrito Brigade originated in Eugene, Oregon in 2014. Volunteers gather monthly to prepare and distribute burritos to hungry folks in need. The Chicago chapter started in 2020 and currently distributes 450 to 500 burritos each month. James Anderson, one of the volunteers who helps with deliveries, says in the documentary, "You know, no matter how bad a situation these people are in, they haven't lost their humanity. But these are people who very much need help and are very grateful for it. And there's just so much humanity there."
"To give back to Chicago and that, you know, Chicago's a great city. There are a lot of problems and if I can help alleviate them or try and fix them, I'm here to do it," says Ace, another delivery volunteer. "I ride my bike all the time. I don't own a car in Chicago, and there are a lot of bike co-ops where I used to volunteer to help fix bikes. And this is kind of a natural progression to help the homeless. If you can do it without a car, help people who are less fortunate, it's a great thing to do."
The documentary follows Deleccio out on a delivery with Cycling x Solidarity. In spite of the cold weather at the time of filming, Deleccio describes it as a rewarding experience. Deleccio had previously done mutual aid work in Denver, but this was their first time preparing and directly distributing food to the needy.
"It was an extremely humbling experience seeing how unprepared cities are with bike infrastructure and the fact that we need more of it," they say. "When you're on a bike, you realize just how destructive cars are for our city. Looking at crash sites, you tend to notice them more when you're on a bike. It's the realization of just how important it is to go out and advocate for these kinds of things for the city."
Deleccio says they wanted to spend more time covering CTA and how many Chicagoans need public transit to get around the city. "I initially wanted to do filming on the El. We just didn't have time. But it would have been a lot of fun, and I do love trains.” They say they would have liked to include the impending transit fiscal cliff and state legislators’ failure to secure funding for transit before the close of the spring session. We at Streetsblog Chicago suggested that Deleccio cover the topic in their next film.
The partnership between Cycling x Solidarity and Burrito Brigade is just one example of mutual aid covered in Deleccio’s film. You can watch “Chicago! A Mutual Aid Story” for free on Deleccio's YouTube channel.
Sign up for Burrito Brigade distribution with Cycling x Solidarity here.
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