NORTHERN ILLINOIS FOOD BANK

LIKE MOST ORGANIZATIONS WE'VE FACED MANY CHALLENGES THIS PAST YEAR. FROM INFLATION AND RISING FOOD PRICES TO SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGES AND GREAT ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY. BUT THROUGH IT ALL, OUR TEAM AT THE FOOD BANK HAS FOCUSED ON ADAPTING, ACCELERATING AND ADDING TO BETTER SERVE OUR COMMUNITY BY LIVING OUT OUR STRATEGIC PLAN THRIVE. WE'RE EMPOWERING OUR NEIGHBORS EXPERIENCING FOOD INSECURITY BY DESIGNING WITH THEM FOR BETTER CHOICE, BETTER ACCESS AND LESS STIGMA. FOR YEARS IT'S BEEN IMPORTANT TO PROVIDE FOOD CHOICES TO OUR NEIGHBORS, ALLOWING THEM THE DIGNITY TO SHOP FOR THEIR GROCERIES AS WE ALL DO. NOW, AS WE THINK ABOUT CHOICE AND EMPOWERMENT, WE STRIVE TO PROVIDE CHOICE IN HOW NEIGHBORS MIGHT ACCESS FOOD AS WELL. THROUGH OUR SPECTRUM OF PROGRAMS, NEIGHBORS CAN CHOOSE TO SHOP AT A PANTRY, DRIVE THROUGH PICK UP AT A PANTRY OR MOBILE MARKET, ORDER ONLINE FOR PICK-UP OR DELIVERY AND CALL, TEXT OR CHAT ONLINE WITH OUR TEAM FOR HELP WITH SNAP BENEFITS. WE'RE EVOLVING THE FOOD BANK, BECOMING STRONGER AND MORE ADAPTABLE WHILE GROWING COMMUNITY SUPPORT AND AWARENESS OF FOOD INSECURITY THROUGHOUT OUR 13 COUNTIES. THIS YEAR WE WELCOMED OVER 16,000 UNIQUE VOLUNTEERS WHO DONATED AN INCREDIBLE 155,000 HOURS OF THEIR TIME. WE RAISED $24M IN CONTRIBUTED REVENUE FROM OUR MANY GENEROUS DONORS TO FURTHER OUR MISSION. WE'RE ENHANCING OUR FOOD SUPPLY BY PROVIDING NUTRITIOUS FOOD, CONSISTENTLY AND EQUITABLY. IN FY25 WE PROVIDED 93.6M MEALS, 3% GROWTH FROM PREVIOUS YEAR. OUR FOOD MIX HAS CHANGED DRASTICALLY COMPARED TO PRE-PANDEMIC. WE PURCHASED 20% OF OUR FOOD, COMPARED TO ABOUT 10% PRE-COVID. PART OF THIS IS TO MAKE UP FOR THE DECLINE IN GOVERNMENT AND DONATED FOOD AND PART OF IT IS OUR FOCUS ON MAKING SURE WE ARE OFFERING THE NUTRITIONAL FOOD OUR NEIGHBORS NEED AND WANT - INCLUDING PRODUCE, PROTEIN AND DAIRY, AND ALSO FOOD THAT IS CULTURALLY AFFIRMING. WE MET OUR GOAL OF 25% OF THE FOOD WE DISTRIBUTE TO BE PRODUCE LAST YEAR. WE'RE ENGAGING OUR NETWORK TO INCREASE ACCESS TO FOOD AND ADVANCE NEIGHBOR-CENTRIC PRACTICES WITH OUR 900 AGENCIES AND FEEDING PROGRAMS. THE FOOD BANK SERVED NEARLY 600,000 NEIGHBORS EACH MONTH, BUT WE DIDN'T DO THIS ALONE. IT WAS ACCOMPLISHED TOGETHER, THROUGH THE HARD WORK AND DEDICATION OF OUR NETWORK OF FOOD PANTRIES, SOUP KITCHENS, AND MOBILE MARKET SITES. OUR PARTNERSHIPS WITH CHILD AND SENIOR PROGRAMS ALSO PROVIDED 2M MEALS. WORKING TOGETHER WE'RE IMPROVING THE EXPERIENCE FOR OUR NEIGHBORS SEEKING HELP BY CREATING MORE COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS, OFFERING TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES, AND PROVIDING OVER $300,000 IN CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS. AS WE LOOK AHEAD TO THIS NEXT YEAR, WE KNOW THE CHALLENGES ARE REAL. BUT WE WILL CONTINUE TO INNOVATE AND ADVOCATE TO HELP EVERYONE IN NORTHERN ILLINOIS HAVE ACCESS TO THE FOOD THEY NEED TO THRIVE.