As food insecurity grew in Lake County, funding from the American Rescue Plan Act helped local organizations meet the growing food needs in the community.
Volunteers for the Northern Illinois Food Bank clean and sorted canned vegetables prior to distribution at the North Suburban Center. On average, the Northern Illinois Food Bank provides 13.3 million meals per year and serves 100,000 neighbors monthly in Lake County.
The nonprofit distributes food to 200 food pantries and programs in Lake and McHenry counties, as well as serving food banks and kitchens in 13 other Illinois counties.The entire Northern Illinois Food Bank network has seen a 30% increase in the total number of people served this year, compared to 375,000 in 2022.“This is the highest it’s been, even during the height of the pandemic,” Hebein said.
The food bank was also able to offer food distribution boxes at no cost to its partners, who normally pay 18 cents per pound to Northern Illinois for distribution. “What was important was that ARPA coming along provided us to keep those programs going,” he continued. “A lot of the food distribution, a lot of the services that we continue to provide to unhoused individuals and our emergency rental assistance program, were all continued. There was no gap in the funding.
Community conversations led to an external organization grant application process for the $15.6 million ARPA dollars the county had remaining this summer. ]
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