How Northern Illinois Food Bank has helped communities for 40 years and counting

CHICAGO (WLS) — In 1983, Sister Rosemarie Burian based what would turn into the Northern Illinois Meals Financial institution. She introduced collectively a small group with a easy aim, to assist remedy the issue of starvation within the Chicago suburbs.

She shared that, “It isn’t what’s in your pocket, however what’s in your coronary heart that expresses life.”

Throughout its first month, the meals financial institution delivered 7,000 kilos of meals. Now, it is a part of a system that gives 78 million meals yearly.

“All of us began with Sister Rosemarie,” mentioned Julie Yurko, president and CEO of the Northern Illinois Meals Financial institution. “She was a Wheaton Franciscan nun. She was working at St. Mark’s Catholic Church in Wheaton and noticed the necessity. She had her parishioners coming to us, they usually did not have sufficient meals. And, one morning, throughout her morning meditation, she felt referred to as to begin a meals financial institution.”

Now, 40 years later, the Northern Illinois Meals Financial institution offers 250,000 meals day by day throughout 13 counties. The folks and households helped by the meals financial institution are half of a bigger image of starvation in our nation.

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The U.S. Division of Agriculture reported that greater than 34 million individuals are meals insecure throughout the nation.

“What meals insecurity means, how it’s outlined by our nation is an absence of constant entry to sufficient meals for each individual to allow them to dwell a contented, wholesome, energetic life,” mentioned Yurko, “It may be very a lot a brief scenario. You may lose your job. You may need a well being situation that leads you to want some assist. You may as well be a working household, you may be working a number of jobs and nonetheless expertise meals insecurity due to inflation and rising prices. Meals insecurity can also be monetary insecurity. And, that is why we’re right here to assist our neighbors.”

However, Yurko mentioned many individuals who need assistance do not know in regards to the meals financial institution.

“So we’ve a brand new meals finder map. It is a digital software and it is on our web site solvehungertoday.org. It is a recreation changer. Neighbors in search of assist can go in, they will enter of their zip code, their deal with. They’ll take a look at schedules for meals pantries and different distributions they usually can discover simply meals help proper close to their dwelling. We even have My Pantry Specific, which is a web based meals pantry the place neighbors can go and order precisely what they need they usually can decide it up at a neighborhood and handy location or they will have the groceries delivered to their dwelling.”

For extra info on the Northern Illinois Meals Financial institution, go to https://solvehungertoday.org/ or name 844-600-SNAP.