As we head into the heart of winter, one challenge continues to rise across DuPage County: food insecurity. Families you might not expect—neighbors, classmates, coworkers—are finding it harder than ever to put food on the table. We are stepping up to meet this moment.
Together with our generous donors and partners, we have awarded $100,000 in emergency food response grants to strengthen the safety net for our most vulnerable residents. 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.
To fund this effort, we allocated a portion of its paddle raise proceeds from our recent Annual Benefit, supported by more than 450 attendees and a lead commitment from the Shebik Family of Wheaton.
“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,” said Mike Sitrick, president & CEO of DuPage Foundation. “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.”
Food insecurity has become one of the most pressing challenges facing DuPage County, with more than 94,000 residents struggling to put food on the table. 8.4% of DuPage children are food insecure and nearly half of those children live in households that are above the threshold to qualify for SNAP. Rising prices combined with changes in SNAP benefits have forced thousands of new families to seek help from local food pantries each month. Many pantries across DuPage County now serve double or even triple the number of clients they did pre-pandemic.
“Thousands of neighbors turn to Peoples Resource Center (PRC) every week, and with colder weather and higher cost of groceries, we are serving more families this season,” said Jeni Fabian, CEO of People’s Resource Center. “DuPage Foundation’s timely support to local pantries has been critical to meet the increased need. PRC’s cost to purchase food increased by over 50% this year, and this grant helped ensure our shelves remained full. Just as importantly, the Foundation raised awareness of local food insecurity and how neighbors can help. We celebrate the many ways the DuPage Foundation keeps our community strong and responsive when needs are the greatest.”
Feeding America estimates that $72.6 million in additional annual funding is required to meet demand in DuPage County, with the average meal costing $4.14. To stretch limited dollars amid growing demand, area pantries rely on food rescue from local grocery stores and bulk purchasing, but funding for food and infrastructure remains the most important need to keep operations going.
