By most measures, 2011 will be remembered as one of the most
challenging years for many of the state’s food banks, pantries, shelters
and soup kitchens.
Efforts to feed those residents who don’t know
where their next meal is coming from has been a daunting task - as the
level of demand has risen to some of its highest levels in recent
memory.
With government and private donations on the decline,
many charitable food providers have been forced to do more with less in
order to continue operating, which has raised concerns that conditions
for the state’s hungry might get even worse in 2012.
With the holiday season in full swing, the news is grim for hunger in
Chicago – more and more Cook County residents don’t know where the next
meal is coming from and food pantry donations are down.
Also,
Congress is scheduled to reauthorize the farm bill next year – and the
new legislation might include cuts in the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program, i.e. food stamps.
On Monday, hunger relief workers and
city officials testified at a City Council hearing on food
insecurity in Chicago, convened by the committees on Health and
Environmental Protections as well as Economic, Capital, and Technology
Development.
The most recent numbers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows the country now has a record-breaking number of people receiving food stamp benefits. Alabama saw a huge uptick following a major natural disaster but one root to their problem is their high poverty rate --something the Chicago-area knows well too.
That’s the number of people in Cook County who are “food insecure,” according to a report
by the Chicago Reporter citing data by Feeding America, a
hunger-relief charity. That means 1 in 5 people or 16.1 percent of
people here don’t have enough food every day. What’s more frightening is
that 36 percent of them are actually living above the federal poverty
line. Read more »
Perhaps spurred by a similar push in Chicago, the State Senate approved
a bill (HB 4756) today that would allow participants of the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program to use their
LINK cards at local farmers markets. Specifically, the measure would
create a Farmers Market Technology Improvement Program tasked with helping USDA-approved farmers' markets and
other alternative vendors buy equipment required to process the
electronic cards. After passing the House in early March, the bill now
heads to the governor's desk.
What if vast swaths of Illinois' food deserts could be filled by
bringing farmers markets to low-income communities?
A new bill circulating in Springfield aims to make that happen.
As the recession lingers, food stamps have been a saving grace for Illinois families struggling to get back on their feet. But because of the state budget crisis, Illinois is still failing to extend food aid to families who need it most. In 2007 alone, $85 million worth of assistance went unclaimed in the Chicago area, according the the Food Research and Action Center's analysis of federal data.
The problem, the Illinois Hunger Coalition's Diane Doherty tells the Chicago Reporter, is that the Illinois Department of Human Services is increasingly "understaffed at the same time that the number of households who are
seeking help has skyrocketed.” The stress on the agency only grew worse when they decided to shutternumerous field offices last year. It's no wonder that 141,843 impoverished Illinoisans are missing out on this crucial subsidy.
Visits to Cook County food pantries skyrocketed in 2009, marking a 36 percent increase since the recession began, the Greater Chicago Food Depository reports.
By most measures, 2011 will be remembered as one of the most
challenging years for many of the state’s food banks, pantries, shelters
and soup kitchens.
With the holiday season in full swing, the news is grim for hunger in
Chicago – more and more Cook County residents don’t know where the next
meal is coming from and food pantry donations are down. 
That’s the number of people in Cook County who are “food insecure,” according to a 
