DuPage Foundation awards $100,000 in emergency food response grants

The DuPage Foundation has awarded $100,000 in emergency food response grants to five agencies to help fight food insecurity.

Loaves & Fishes Community Services, Neighborhood Food Pantries, The Outreach House, People’s Resource Center and West Suburban Community Pantry each received $20,000 to support immediate food purchases.

The grants are intended to “strengthen the safety net for the county’s most vulnerable residents,” the organization said in a press release.

“We are deeply grateful to our many donors and partners who are joining us in meeting the moment to provide vital funding to support our most vulnerable residents during this challenging time,” Mike Sitrick, DuPage Foundation president and CEO, said in the release. “No one should go hungry in our community, and it’s heartening to see so many step up together for our neighbors. This is the power of collective impact at work.”

Rising prices combined with changes in SNAP benefits have forced thousands of new families to seek help from local food pantries each month, according to the foundation. Many pantries across DuPage County now serve double or even triple the number of clients they did pre-pandemic.

Jeni Fabian, CEO of People’s Resource Center, said colder weather and higher costs have them serving more families this season.

“DuPage Foundation’s timely support to local pantries has been critical to meet the increased need,” she said. “PRC’s cost to purchase food increased by over 50% this year, and this grant helped ensure our shelves remained full.”

The foundation said more than 94,000 DuPage County residents struggle with food insecurity, including 8.4% of the county’s children.