With food insecurity on the rise, Northern Illinois Food Bank never stops feeding their neighbors

If you thought low unemployment and the end of the pandemic would mean fewer people are struggling with food insecurity in the suburbs, you are wrong.

The Northern Illinois Food Bank is busier than ever helping neighbors in need.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports the number of people living in food-insecure households in 2022 increased by 31%.

NIFB is serving about 540,000 individuals a month. That's 80,000 more than last year and nearly double what they served before the pandemic, said NIFB Chief Philanthropy Officer Maeven Sipes.

"People are still struggling and having to make tough choices," Sipes said. "Prices are higher than before and even if people are working, their wages can't keep up with what their expenses are looking like."

Sipes said more people have become aware of the food bank, which is great but also bittersweet.

"We've always wanted to be able to reach everybody, but it's also sad when we think about these numbers and how many people are in need," she said.

The food bank recognized its 40th anniversary this summer with its first Founder's Day event, honoring late founder Sister Rosemarie Burian on what would have been her 87th birthday.

The handful of volunteers who started with Burian in Carol Stream has grown to 20,000 a year. The food bank works with more than 900 food pantries, mobile food truck markets, soup kitchens and feeding programs to provide 80 million meals a year to people across 13 counties.

For the third year, the food bank will be among the recipients of a grant through Daily Herald Neighbors in Need, a partnership with the McCormick Foundation fund that raises awareness and helps solve issues of hunger, homelessness and health care disparities in the suburbs.

The annual campaign will also benefit the Chicago Dental Society Foundation, District 214 Cares, Lazarus House and WINGS.

To donate to Neighbors in Need, visit dailyherald.com/neighbors. The McCormick Foundation matches all donations to the Daily Herald Neighbors in Need Fund at 50 cents on the dollar.

That money goes a long way at the food bank, where every dollar donated will help provide eight dollars worth of groceries, Sipes said.

She said most of the money they raise is from small donations. Of their 35,000 donors each year, about 85 percent of them donate less than $200 a year. But when each dollar they receive has eight times the buying power, those small donations add up.

"Every dollar helps make an impact," she said. "$100 can feed a family for a month."

The food bank is in the midst of its holiday meal box campaign. 50,000 meal boxes will be distributed in November and December by local food pantries throughout northern Illinois. Each box serves a family of six to eight and includes traditional trimmings for a holiday meal such as stuffing, gravy, dry rice and potatoes, canned beans and vegetables, and dessert mix. A whole turkey, ham, turkey breast or meatless option will be distributed with the box.

Volunteer Diane Lewinski of St. Charles was helping out at the 165,000-square-foot warehouse in Geneva Tuesday, just like she's been doing twice a week for 13 years.

She began volunteering mostly for social reasons but specifically works with the food bank because of their mission, she explained.

"Everybody should be able to eat," she said. "With all the food on this earth you just really want to do something to get people who can't afford something a good meal, something to go home to."

Lewinski said she's brought her three grandchildren in over the years to volunteer as well.

"I want to teach them something that might carry on later in their lives," she said. "They have fun and learn why we need to do things like this."

Northern Illinois Food Bank

Year founded: 1983

Number of people served: More than 540,000 every month, about double the amount prior to the pandemic

Volunteers: Roughly 20,000 annually

Needs: Monetary donations make the biggest impact. Every dollar donated can provide eight dollars worth of food to a family.

Where to donate: <a href="https://www.mccormickfoundation.org/partnerships/daily-herald-neighbors-in-need-fund/">dailyherald.com/neighbors</a> or <a href="https://solvehungertoday.org/">solvehungertoday.org</a>