{"id":134861,"date":"2025-08-10T17:20:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-10T17:20:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/134861\/"},"modified":"2025-08-10T17:20:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T17:20:15","slug":"friends-continued-the-work-of-beloved-late-lgbtq-activist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/134861\/","title":{"rendered":"Friends continued the work of beloved late LGBTQ activist"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bobby Foster sobbed all day Monday, but there wasn\u2019t a doubt in his mind that he\u2019d be back to work the following morning. He has to go on, he said, no matter what.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we have to do it with tears coming out our eyes, we gotta do it,\u201d Foster, 57, said.<\/p>\n

Tuesday marked Foster\u2019s first volunteer shift at GroceryLand, the long-running Edgewater food pantry for HIV-positive people, without the pantry\u2019s steadfast linchpin, Lori Cannon. A fixture of LGBTQ+ activism in Chicago and the driving force behind GroceryLand, Cannon died at home Aug. 3 of heart failure, a close friend told the Tribune. She was 74.<\/p>\n

Less than 48 hours later, the doors of GroceryLand\u2019s 5543 N. Broadway brick-and-mortar stood open, as grieving volunteers returned to do what they had for years done side by side with Cannon: serve the community. They wouldn\u2019t have had it any other way, the volunteers said, as they vowed to carry on Cannon\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was her dream,\u201d Foster said. \u201cThis was her goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Born in Ravenswood and raised in West Rogers Park, Cannon established what would ultimately become GroceryLand 37 years ago amid the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s.<\/p>\n

Eleven years after AIDS was first reported in the United States, it was the leading cause of death for U.S. men ages 25 to 44. HIV disproportionally affects people in vulnerable populations that are often highly marginalized, stigmatized and criminalized, including the LGBTQ+ community, racial and ethnic minorities, women and girls, drug users and sex workers, according to the World Health Organization.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t understand what was happening,\u201d Cannon told the Tribune in 2004<\/a> of the epidemic. \u201cBut I knew I didn\u2019t like it. The horror, the heartbreak we experienced \u2026 and no one was paying attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cannon turned to organizing, becoming an early volunteer for Chicago House, which provides a range of services for people and families affected by HIV, and helped launch the city\u2019s local chapter of the national AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, according to the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

In 1988, Cannon co-founded Open Hand Chicago to deliver meals to people with AIDS. Six years later, Open Hand expanded to food pantries where clients could shop for their own free load of groceries, with the idea that they\u2019d come away feeling more empowered in the process. GroceryLand was born.<\/p>\n

Over time, the operation evolved, being renamed Vital Bridges in 2001 and 10 years later, becoming an arm of Heartland Alliance Health, whose parent organization split apart last year amid financial turmoil<\/a>. In February, Heartland Alliance Health itself was on the brink of closure<\/a> before receiving a multimillion-dollar<\/a> donation that saved the organization from shutting down. Still, through it all, GroceryLand remained, with Cannon at the helm.<\/p>\n

\"DannyDanny Sotomayor, right, sets up his display of AIDS buttons and shirts as Lori Cannon watches after the Chicago pride parade in 1991. (Pat Cummings)<\/p>\n

\u201cLori Cannon was a true ally in Illinois from her organizing days to founding Open Hand Chicago \u2014 she led the way with chutzpah and humor,\u201d Gov. JB Pritzker wrote in a statement to social media recently.<\/p>\n

That tenacity was palpable Tuesday, living on through the GroceryLand volunteers and clients Cannon leaves behind.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know what tomorrow\u2019s going to bring or how it\u2019s going to turn out,\u201d Foster said as he wiped his eyes, his voice wavering.<\/p>\n

Foster initially came to the organization as a client when it was still known as Open Hand, after he contracted HIV at 20 years old. From Florida, he fell in love with Chicago from the moment he saw \u201ctwo guys walking down the street holding hands \u2026 and it seemed normal to them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Cannon gave Foster the \u201cguidance of the mother that I never had,\u201d he said, sitting in GroceryLand\u2019s reception area as clients filtered in and out with canned goods, grains and vegetables in hand. All around, pride flags lined the pantry\u2019s walls while overhead, a doll resembling Cannon hung from angel wings, though the effigy had been part of the pantry\u2019s decor long before Cannon died as a standing homage to GroceryLand\u2019s \u201cguardian angel,\u201d volunteers said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWill it be the same?\u201d Foster said. \u201cWill we have the same support from the community? She knew so many people. She had so many connections. \u2026 Only time will tell. (But) the need is there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s because of Lori \u2026 we\u2019re all here\u2019<\/p>\n

Chicago artist David Lee Csicsko said he\u2019ll be a part of GroceryLand \u201cuntil I\u2019m gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more than 30 years, Csicsko has produced artwork for the pantry to liven the space and turn it into somewhere for not only \u201cnourishing your body but your mind and your soul and your heart,\u201d he said. \u201cThe constant thing was just making something that makes people smile.\u201d That was important to Cannon, who exuded kindness and humor and knew every client that walked through the door by first name, Csicsko said.<\/p>\n

\"AA drawing of Lori Cannon by Chicago artist David Lee Csicsko, who for more than 30 years created artwork for GroceryLand, the long-running Edgewater food pantry for people who are HIV positive. Cannon, the driving force behind GroceryLand, died Aug. 3. (David Lee Csicsko)<\/p>\n

Today, GroceryLand, with the help of some 30 volunteers, serves a few hundred regular clients, volunteer Maria Mavraganes said.<\/p>\n

Mavraganes, 60, met Cannon when she was 16 years old, after she and her family, who had owned a restaurant in Lakeview for years<\/a>, became involved in advocacy efforts early on in the AIDS epidemic, she said. When she retired four years ago, Mavraganes said she formally joined GroceryLand so she could volunteer \u201cfor the community that gave so much to me and my family,\u201d an opportunity she owed to Cannon.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s because of Lori and on Lori\u2019s behalf that we\u2019re all here.\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

When client Frank Frasier took a bad fall last year and tore a tendon in his leg, it was Cannon who kept in touch and ensured he\u2019d still receive his groceries, he said. A friend introduced Frasier, a longtime survivor of HIV, to GroceryLand seven years ago, and he\u2019s been a client, as well as a part-time volunteer, since.<\/p>\n

\"LoriLori Cannon, program director at GroceryLand. (Chicago Tribune\/Bob Fila)<\/p>\n

Cannon had this ability to \u201cmake you feel like you\u2019re the most important person in the world,\u201d said Frasier, who lived in Edgewater for 24 years but now lives in the suburbs. \u201cShe never turned anybody away. Never. Whether it was a day\u2019s worth of food or a week\u2019s worth of food or whatever, even if they weren\u2019t a client, she didn\u2019t turn them away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frasier said it was always Cannon\u2019s hope that someday, GroceryLand wouldn\u2019t be necessary anymore. He referenced a 2016 article by the former hyperlocal news website DNAinfo Chicago, in which Cannon was quoted as saying, \u201cI hope to hang up the shingle on my front door that says, \u2018We\u2019re going fishing, we\u2019re closing our doors, the need is not there, it\u2019s been a pleasure serving you all.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Frasier said that dream still stands.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want (her legacy) to be a dusty plaque someplace. I want it to keep living and breathing. \u2026 We\u2019re her legacy. The people here,\u201d he paused, choking up, \u201care her legacy. Clients, the people working.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an email to the Tribune, Heartland Alliance Health spokesperson Troy Tamashiro stated Heartland \u201cmourns the loss\u201d of Cannon, whose \u201cactivism, compassion and unrelenting dedication helped reshape how our city responds to public health crises and supports marginalized communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cannon\u2019s \u201cunwavering commitment to nourishing both bodies and spirits made Vital Bridges a lifeline for thousands,\u201d Tamashiro continued, adding: \u201cWe are profoundly grateful for (her) decades of leadership and love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tamashiro said Heartland Alliance Health is \u201ctaking time to thoughtfully consider next steps for GroceryLand, ensuring that any decisions reflect the care, community and values Lori brought to her work every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Longtime Chicago performer Angelique Munro, who knew Cannon for 16 years, said the focus among Cannon\u2019s close network is \u201cthe future of GroceryLand and the LGBTQ+ community\u201d especially amid today\u2019s political climate.<\/p>\n

Heartland Alliance Health, which relies on federal funding for an estimated 20% to 30% of its annual budget, has been closely monitoring \u201cproposed changes to federal funding with concern,\u201d Tamashiro said, though he added that the organization is \u201con strong financial footing\u201d and \u201cwell-positioned\u201d to continue delivering care.<\/p>\n

\"LoriLori Cannon, a fixture of LGBTQ+ activism in Chicago and the driving force behind the long-running Edgewater food pantry for people who are HIV-positive GroceryLand, died Aug. 3 of heart failure. She was 74. (Angelique Munro)<\/p>\n

For the past 15 years, Munro, 55, has held an annual Thanksgiving food drive for GroceryLand to ensure that clients could take home a holiday meal. She plans to keep the tradition going this fall.<\/p>\n

Cannon was like a mother to Munro, whose own mother died in 2006, she said. Losing Cannon has \u201cshattered\u201d her, but \u201cwe just have to continue on,\u201d she said, \u201cbecause that\u2019s what she would want. \u2026 It\u2019s all about honoring her and keeping her memory alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

On that Tuesday afternoon, Derrick Fox walked towards GroceryLand with a black suitcase rolling behind him on the sidewalk. \u201cAre they servicing today?\u201d the 63-year-old asked.<\/p>\n

Fox, of Englewood, met Cannon when GroceryLand opened and is \u201cliving witness to what (the pantry) has done for us by way of Lori,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a longtime survivor,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m a longtime survivor because of her.\u201d
The Associated Press and Tribune archives contributed.<\/p>\n

tkenny@chicagotribune.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bobby Foster sobbed all day Monday, but there wasn\u2019t a doubt in his mind that he\u2019d be back…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":134862,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5124],"tags":[960,5386,1818,1370,50],"class_list":{"0":"post-134861","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago","8":"tag-chicago","9":"tag-il","10":"tag-illinois","11":"tag-latest-headlines","12":"tag-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115005621888551019","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134861\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}