More than 15% in suburban Cook County suffer ‘food insecurity’

An community-by-community study of Cook County’s food insecurity rates shows that in suburban Cook County, more than 15 percent of people are uncertain where they will find their next meal.The Greater Chicago Food Depository, which runs 650 pantries, kitchens and shelters, combined census data with food insecurity rates to better utilize their goods as more and more people walk through their doors in need of something to eat.#147;It is really going to help us further refine where we are going to send our food,#148; said Bob Dolgan, director of communications. #147;It#146;s an unfortunate situation to have this level of need, but we are the first food bank in the country to have this sort of data.#148;Dolgan defined food insecurity as #147;someone not necessarily knowing where their next meal is coming from or the uncertainty of when they will eat again within a certain time period.#148;Although the rate of food insecurity in Chicago remains higher than in the suburbs, Dolgan said most people would be surprised by the numbers.In Arlington Heights, 11.2 percent of residents do not necessarily know where their next meal will come from. Throughout northwestern Cook County, most communities#146; food insecurity rates hover in the low double-digits: 11.1 percent in Buffalo Grove, 14.5 in Des Plaines, 12.3 percent in Elk Grove, 12.6 in Hoffman Estates, 12.7 in Mount Prospect, 13.2 in Palatine and 12.3 in Schaumburg, to list a few.Researchers used U.S. Department of Agriculture data gathered by asking individuals and families questions such as: #147;How often did you miss a meal this year?#148; and #147;How long did you go without eating for a certain period of time?#148; Those results combined with more specific census data painted a bleak picture.#147;Over the past three years we have seen at the food depository about 59 percent more people turning to pantries,#148; Dolgan said. #147;In many cases, in communities typically where you would not expect to see this.#148;About half of the depository#146;s 69 million pounds of food for its 650 pantries comes from corporations and food manufactures, 25 percent comes from food drives and 25 percent comes through federal aid, according to the organization.