Ja’Mal Green to throw Thanksgiving giveaway in Altgeld Gardens

Chicken — or Cornish hen — is expected in hundreds of Altgeld Gardens kitchens this week thanks to mayoral candidate Ja’Mal Green’s Thanksgiving giveaway.

Tired of being bused to a nearby Walmart after local grocer Rosebud Farms closed this summer, residents from the Far South Side public housing development reached out to Green for help.

Green then said he started to pull ideas together.

The culmination of his brainstorming is expected to take place from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, when Green is planning to feed 1,000 families and people from the surrounding community while registering the crowds to vote. Green said he will also make sure kids get haircuts from the barbers he’s bringing with him.

Green partnered with Project H.O.O.D, Leak & Sons Funeral Homes, the Chicago Neighborhood Initiative and the Chevrolet of Homewood to put the event together.

The crowd will also have a chance to sign up and win a car.

Green will also call on the Chicago Housing Authority to fast track a plan to get a grocery store on site. CHA officials did not immediately provide comment on Green’s plan.

“I know a lot of the guys there — some are deemed the ones who cause the most trouble,” said Green, a Pullman resident. “They reached out asking for support, asking for job opportunities and the real need for a grocery store. I want to help not just as mayor, but as a citizen of the community. It’s not fair that people are living in their homes without any support from anybody.”