Ending hunger starts with community.
Partners are neighbors, first.
While our food pantry is open to serving all residents of Illinois, our Priority Service Area takes in 15 villages in Cook County. Much like our nation, those villages are connected by commerce and community, by neighborhoods and neighbors. Most especially, they are connected by business leaders and civic leaders who understand the importance of these connections.
Levels of food insecurity range widely in our region, in part due to equally wide-ranging levels of income disparity.
Hunger and food insecurity are local problems.*
7,000+ people live below the federal poverty level (FPL).
14,000+ more live marginally above the FPL.
21,000+ of our neighbors are likely facing food insecurity.
Ours is a region of wide income disparity.
The majority of residents facing food insecurity in our immediate service area live in 7 of our 15 villages. Yet, within every village, too many of our residents are experiencing food insecurity.
We are all neighbors.
Setting the table for change in our region requires a community-based approach to a shared problem.
* Sources:
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Greater Chicago Food Depository
Cook County Community Area Census Data and Community Asset Map