Barack Obama helped Chicago volunteers prepare Thanksgiving meals

Former President Barack Obama surprised volunteers at a Chicago food bank on Tuesday when he dropped in and helped prepare Thanksgiving meals.

The Greater Chicago Food Depository, which distributes 159,000 meals a day to the hungry, thanked Obama and his foundation in a tweet “for joining our volunteers today,” according to USA Today.

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“Thank you to ⁦@BarackObama⁩ and ⁦@ObamaFoundation⁩ for joining our volunteers today at the Food Depository. We believe no one should go hungry, especially this time of year, and that’s why we’re working to address the root causes of hunger in Chicago and Cook County,” the food bank said.

A video posted Tuesday shows Obama at the facility bagging potatoes alongside helpers. He also praised the volunteers “who understand that hope requires action.”

Thank you to ⁦@BarackObama⁩ and ⁦@ObamaFoundation⁩ for joining our volunteers today at the Food Depository. We believe no one should go hungry, especially this time of year, and that’s why we’re working to address the root causes of hunger in Chicago and Cook County. pic.twitter.com/d6YfBjvJl2

— Chicago’s Food Bank (@FoodDepository) November 20, 2018

“Thanks to the Chicago @FoodDepository team for all you do and to the volunteers who are doing great work and let me crash today,” Obama tweeted Tuesday night.

Thanks to the Chicago @FoodDepository team for all you do and to the volunteers who are doing great work and let me crash today. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody! https://t.co/r4QeBeCoT1

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 21, 2018

For several years while he was president, Obama and his family helped serve Thanksgiving meals at food banks in the Washington, D.C., area.

“I am grateful for the next generation of leaders — the young people who are tolerant, creative, idealistic and doing the work to create the world as it should be,” he tweeted. “From the Obama family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving.”

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Obama is in town for the second annual Obama Foundation Summit. The two-day event is set to go down in the South Loop and the focus is on working together to bring positive change in the world, CBS News reports.

Mr. Obama will take the stage with several guest speakers, including singer and actress Janelle Monae and author Dave Eggers.

The summit begins Sunday evening and can be streamed online through the Obama Foundation website.

Meanwhile, Newsweek reports that while the former president was helping feed the hungry, Donald Trump was traveling on Air Force with his wife and youngest son, Barron, to West Palm Beach, Florida, where he will spend the Thanksgiving holiday at his exclusive Mar-a-Lago estate club.