Leftover food from set of HBO Max’s ‘South Side’ goes to needy; city hopes it catches on with other productions

Diallo Riddle, a co-creator of HBO Max’s “South Side,” has a unique understanding of the importance of food.

“I’m a father and have three growing boys. And I work on film shoots that have 150 people with cast and crew. In both worlds, you always have to have more food than you think you might need,” Riddle said.

So when he heard of a program Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office is trying to institute to collect leftover food from film shoots and get it in the hands of less fortunate Chicago residents, he didn’t hesitate.

“The second I heard about it I was like ‘Hell yes! Let’s not waste anything. This is a no-brainer,’” he said. “There’s nothing worse than feeling like you’re wasting something that somebody else needs.”

Showrunners made six food donations this summer from four different film locations that totaled to 160 meals, according to Replate, a nonprofit that collects leftovers from a variety of businesses and distributes them to other nonprofits that have clients looking for a healthy meal.

Replate works with many businesses in Chicago — including Boston Consulting Group, Sprout Social and Jump Trading — and the do-gooders hope the food collections from “South Side” provide an inroad into the city’s film industry.

Riddle hopes the trend will catch on in Chicago, which is home to a thriving film industry that includes movie, television and commercial shoots.

“Things that start on one set quickly spread to other sets when word gets out about it, and hopefully this is something that catches on,” said Riddle, who grew up in Atlanta and created the show with Bashir Salahuddin, a South Sider.

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Replate collects and distributes only nutritious food.

“We don’t accept cookies. We only accept nutritious meals,” said Courtney Garcia, a spokeswoman for Replate.

The grub on the film set of “South Side” is a natural fit.

“We eat whole foods, actual food, when we’re on set,” Riddle said.

Three appreciative Chicago groups received meals from the film set: Inner Voices, which supports people experiencing homelessness; Sarah’s Inn, which provides services to victims of domestic violence; and Kells Park Community Council, which offers a range of services to residents in West Humboldt Park.

“We get word from Replate about a food drop-off and then we reach out to seniors in the community to come get a meal,” said Nita Hailey-Gamble, president of the Kells Park Community Council.

“We reach out directly to them because some seniors are so proud they won’t say if they don’t have food.”

Gaby Wagener-Sobrero, an environmental policy adviser in Lightfoot’s office, said she hopes their work with “South Side” will pave the way for a yet-to-be-launched “Food Rescue Challenge” that will include the participation of multiple film productions shooting in Chicago.

The city received funding from the Natural Resources Defense Council, a nonprofit dedicated to environmental issues and healthy communities, to work on the project.

The third season of “South Side” wrapped in late summer. Its debut date hasn’t been announced.

“I would love to say we’ve already been picked up for next season but that’s not the case, yet,” he said, noting he has high hopes for the upcoming season and a continued partnership with Replate and the city.