Hunger Network links surplus food with those in need
After spending more than 20 years in finance and accounting with Kraft Foods, Kathy McKenna of Arlington Heights knows something about the costs associated with putting food on the table.
It should come as no surprise then, that after taking early retirement, McKenna is choosing to volunteer in an area she feels passionate about: fighting hunger.
McKenna is one of 14 directors who run the nonprofit agency the Hunger Resource Network. Started in 2009 by Northbrook resident Daniel Jariabka, the organization has delivered more than one million pounds of food — high quality protein and produce — to agencies in Chicago and the suburbs.
The agency's mission is to make connections with those who have too much food, including gathering surplus goods from local farmers markets, and provide it to those who need it, namely food pantries, shelters and soup kitchens.
On a recent Saturday, the agency delivered 126,000 pounds of frozen chicken to 100 Chicago area food pantries, shelters and soup kitchens at its Community Outreach Day.
Recipients included Northwest suburban agencies such as the Elk Grove Township Pantry, Willow Creek Care Center in South Barrington, Kingswood United Methodist Church in Buffalo Grove; Emmaus House of Hospitality in Lake Zurich; Mount Prospect area food pantries; Wheeling Township Food Pantry and Mission San Juan Diego, both in Arlington Heights; Des Plaines Self Help Pantry; and WINGS Safe House in Rolling Meadows.
The distribution took place in the parking lot of Underwriters Laboratories in Northbrook, where nearly 350 volunteers turned out to help. They did everything from supervise traffic control and sign in agencies, to load trucks and handle the media, specifically the news trucks who came to report on the good news story.
McKenna focused on working with agency representatives. As a former assistant controller of Kraft Foods, she has jumped in to help with fundraising and contacting recipient agencies.
“We fundraise through grants from businesses and civic groups,” McKenna says, adding that the organization launched its online appeal on Nov. 1. Information is at www.hungerresourcenetwork.org.
“The mission is so good, and with it being all volunteers, all the money we raise goes toward the organization.”
Hunger continues to be a significant problem, agency officials add, even in the Northwest suburbs.
Mike Sweeney, Elk Grove Township supervisor, said the number of people accessing the township food pantry — which serves residents of Elk Grove Village, Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect, Des Plaines and Rolling Meadows — has risen in recent months, making the donation of protein-rich chicken timely.
“This is the largest single donation that we receive annually,” Sweeney said. “The items they are providing will help us to meet some of our immediate needs, and will allow the township food pantry to stretch our funds.”
Jariabka, who founded the Hunger Resource Network, points to national numbers showing one of every eight people, or 13 percent of the population, is food-insecure. Simply put, he says, the need is great.
“Every day, we hear about people who are hungry, but you don't have to go to a Third World country to see hunger,” Jariabka says. “Hunger is everywhere. It's in our communities and in our neighborhoods today, and it will continue to be here tomorrow, unless we choose to make a difference.”