Dunham Foundation awards Fox Valley Food for Health $50,000 grant for Healthy Meals Program

Fox Valley Food for Health was recently awarded a $50,000 grant by the Dunham Foundation. The grant will allow it to continue expanding their Healthy Meals and Teen Education Programs in Kane and DuPage counties.

Since 2013, Fox Valley Food for Health has provided organic, plant-based meals to individuals in the community who are struggling with a health crisis like a cancer diagnosis. Local Teen Chef volunteers participate in the program after school, and learn critical wellness, nutrition education and culinary skills as they prepare the nutrient-dense meals that are delivered to clients and their families for 12 weeks free of charge.

In 2020, even after a 70% reduction in volunteer participation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, their team of adult and teen volunteers prepared and delivered over 17,000 meals.

To date, volunteers have delivered over 70,000 meals since their inception.

The program's overall goal is to help change the way our community thinks about food and nutrition, and to encourage good health and wellness for everyone.

"Over the last few years, FVFFH has seen a drastic increase in the need for our Healthy Meals program in the Fox Valley community. It has been our goal to continue to provide our meals to more individuals, educate more Teen Chefs, and continue to broaden our service area to reach communities with high levels of food insecurity," said Zac Cesario, executive director of Fox Valley Food for Health. "The extremely generous gift from the Dunham Foundation will give us the capability to accomplish just that and allow us to continue to offer our healing meals free of charge; so our clients and their families, can focus on healing and feel the support, care and love from our community."

The mission of the Dunham Foundation is to providing positive, multigenerational support to organizations that serve all individuals and families in its service area. They believe that this support lays the groundwork for successful generations to come and builds an infrastructure for a community where all can thrive. The Dunham Foundation strives to honor John C. Dunham's vision for building a healthy, thriving community through our partnerships and support throughout the service area.

Fox Valley Food for Health's mission is to promote a nutrition focused community through teen education and serving those struggling with a health crisis. Its vision is to keep the community educated, empowered, connected and nourished by providing an empowering environment that is physically, socially, vocationally, intellectually and emotionally nurturing and through nutritious food.

To learn more about Fox Valley Food for Health, visit www.fvffh.org.