Obama surprises volunteers at a Chicago food bank and participates in the preparation of meal packs for Thanksgiving

Former President Barack Obama paid an unexpected visit to the Greater Chicago Food Depository on Tuesday, where he helped prepare potatoes for Thanksgiving meals.

Wearing a Chicago White Sox hat, Obama arrived with bags of food and donned latex gloves to work alongside volunteers from the non-profit organization, which helps provide more meals to 700 food and shelter offices in Cook County, Illinois.

The former president and long-time resident in Chicago has come with staff members from the Obama Foundation, which seeks to improve communities across the United States through leadership training and training. Other educational endeavors.

"Hey how are you?" he asked volunteers as he entered. "It's a place that looks spiffy right here."

"We think no one should be hungry, especially at this time of year, and that's why we are working to fight the root causes of hunger in Chicago and Cook County," he said. tweeted the food bank Tuesday, with a video of the surprise visit.

In the video, Obama meets two little girls who volunteer and says, "You do a great job, you help, I'm really proud of you."

Obama still lives in Washington, but was in Chicago to attend the Obama Foundation summit, bringing together community leaders and students.

The Obama presidency was characterized by the fight against hunger in the world. In 2009, his administration announced a $ 3.5 billion contribution over three years to the Feed the Future initiative, which aims to promote agricultural knowledge and tools in areas of high food insecurity. In 2016, he signed the Global Food Security Law to strengthen the government's efforts for Feed the Future initiatives.

It was not the first time that Obama volunteered during the Thanksgiving holiday. He and his family spent the day before Thanksgiving in 2015 serving dinner to homeless people and veterans at the Friendship Place Homeless Center in Washington.

At the time, Obama had declared that not only "vis-à-vis the spirit of generosity in this holiday season, but also our national obligation to ensure that all those who serve and who sacrifice for our country have a home ".