New Illinois law expands SNAP access to more low-income families

Food Depository advocates asked lawmakers to support S.B. 1847 during Lobby Day in Springfield last May.

An Illinois law that took effect January 1 will enable more low-income families to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

Senate Bill 1847 increases the SNAP income limit from 130 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) to 165 percent of FPL. The expanded limit provides access to SNAP for families that were making slightly too much to qualify for the program but still struggling. It is estimated that the new law will enable 40,000 previously ineligible families to receive SNAP benefits.

Food Depository staff, volunteers and partner agencies encouraged lawmakers to support the bill during Lobby Day in Springfield last May. It passed through the General Assembly with bipartisan support and was signed by Gov. Bruce Rauner in July.

For more information about the Food Depository’s advocacy efforts, visit chicagosfoodbank.org/advocacy.

A holiday wish come true

Orlando Collins overcame homelessness and hunger with the help of a Greater Chicago Food Depository partner agency.

In 2013, Orlando Collins spent Christmas in a homeless shelter.

He’d lost his job at a car wash the year before and the building he was living in got foreclosed on. Soon after, he found the Franciscan House of Mary and Joseph Shelter, a Greater Chicago Food Depository member agency in Chicago’s Garfield Park neighborhood.

“I thank God the shelter was there for me,” Orlando said. “It got me off the streets, stopped me from sleeping in abandoned buildings or trains.”

At the shelter, Orlando got a hot meal every day, prepared from food the shelter receives from the Food Depository.

“If it weren’t for this food, I wouldn’t have been able to stay focused. It really helped me move forward,” Orlando said.

While he was at the shelter, Orlando earned his food safety certification and started a part time job at a commercial kitchen. He had one wish.

“I really just want my own place to live,” he said in December 2013. “That’s what makes a difference. And this year, I think I can make that happen.”

And he did.

Orlando saved enough to pay rent and in July 2014 he moved out of the shelter and into a studio apartment in Wicker Park.

“It’s incredible,” he said. “I can open my own fridge; sleep in my own bed, there’s a real sense of pride to having my own place now.”

He also got a new job at a familiar place – the shelter. He’s working 35 hours per week, cooking all the dinners using food the agency receives from the Food Depository.

“I feel like I’m really giving something back,” he said. “I love cooking and seeing the smiles on the other people’s faces, but I also want to motivate the other guys. I did it. I want them to know they can succeed too.”

Orlando continues to get his life back on track and is starting to look toward the future. He hopes to open a restaurant one day. But before that, he’s looking forward to spending Christmas in his own home.

“I can’t wait to prepare a meal for my family,” he said, pausing. “It’s something I’ve been really looking forward to doing. It touches me and brings tears to my eyes. I’m proud that I’ve come this far.”

You can make an immediate impact in the lives of hungry people across our community by visiting http://chicagosfoodbank.org/give  

'This helped when I was down and out'

Jamaine Washington receives food at the Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital food pantry.

Jamaine Washington, a United States Army veteran of the 82^nd Airborne, was stationed in Egypt during his tour from 1977 – 1983. When he returned home, he was expecting to live a normal life. But 10 years ago, his life was suddenly, unexpectedly shattered.

“I had a brain aneurysm,” the 58-year-old recalls. “I was lucky I didn’t die.”

Jamaine spent a month in the hospital recovering. At first, he couldn’t walk or talk and he temporarily lost his vision. After he was released from the hospital, he underwent months of rehabilitation.

Physically, he recovered enough to become independent again. But the aneurysm had other effects. After months of physical therapy and doctor’s visits, Jamaine’s savings were depleted. Unable to work and on disability, he couldn’t keep up with his rent payments and other bills.

“I was riding the L to stay warm some nights,” he said. “I was homeless for a time.”

Jamaine regularly came to the Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital for checkups, so when the Greater Chicago Food Depository teamed with the hospital to open a food pantry for veterans inside the facility in November 2014, Jamaine was relieved.

“I’ve been coming to the pantry since it opened,” he said. “It’s helped me out a lot. To be blunt, I wouldn’t have food without it.”

Through the pantry, Jamaine was connected with housing assistance and he now lives in his own apartment near the VA. While he remains on disability, Jamaine no longer struggles with hunger and homelessness. His life is turning around.

"This helped me when I was down and out," Jamaine said. "And now I'm getting back on my feet."

Food Depository named a top charity by Chicago magazine

The November 2015 issue of Chicago magazine named the Greater Chicago Food Depository one of the area's best charities.

Chicago magazine recently named the Greater Chicago Food Depository one of the area's 20 best charities.

"Impressively, this mainstay goes right where the need is," writes the magazine. "Its Producemobile delivers fresh fruits and vegetables to food deserts, and its popular Lunch Bus serves free healthy lunches to kids throughout the city in the summer."

The Food Depository and other organizations were highlighted in the November 2015 issue of the magazine. Charities were chosen based on a number of criteria, including holding a four-star rating with Charity Navigator.

The magazine also applied four tests to assemble the final list: Does the organization have a unique mission? Does it have significant data to show its impact? Does it have a strong Chicago connection? And, how big a hole would be left if it disappeared?

In addition to the Food Depository, organizations that focus on justice, culture, children, education, community resources, pets, health and the environment were chosen. See the complete list and read the full story.

The 1 in 5: Giving back to the community

When Hector Perez was a child, he spent most of his days hungry.

“Sometimes, my brothers and sisters and I would each be given one banana for dinner,” he said. “Or, dinner would be white rice and ketchup or a fried egg.”

Hector grew up in the Humboldt Park community. His father passed away when he was young, so his mother raised him and his brothers and sisters. The family received food stamps, but often food didn’t last the entire month.

“Sometimes by the second week of the month, our food stamps were gone. I’d go home and lay in bed unable to sleep because my stomach hurt because I was hungry,” Hector said.

He knew he needed to start supporting himself, so when Hector was 14 years old, he got a summer job at the Union League Boys & Girls Club near his home.

“That’s really where my life started,” he said.

The Club helped stabilize Hector’s life and gave him direction. But, when he was enrolled, the Club did not have a meal program to address the need among children in the community.

Nearly 25 years later, Hector changed that.

After spending 17 years in retail, Hector returned to the Club as Senior Director. He knew that children were still going to bed hungry in the community and began a partnership with the Greater Chicago Food Depository to offer Kids Cafe meals every day at the Club.

“It’s a struggle in this community,” he said. “People are out of work, families are making tough calls. Do I pay for electricity or do I buy food? And you know what? A lot of the time it’s the bills that get paid.”

Now, the Club serves healthy, nutritious meals to hundreds of children each week.

“These children are so happy to get the meals,” he said. “Families who struggled like mine will know that their children are getting the food they need to stay healthy.”

The Food Depository administers Kids Cafes, which are funded federally through the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). CACFP is just one of the programs authorized by the Child Nutrition Reauthorization. To learn more about Child Nutrition Reauthorization and how to advocate for strong children’s programs, visit chicagosfoodbank.org/advocacy.

The 1 in 5: Child Nutrition Reauthorization update

A child eats a meal at a Kids Cafe in Pilsen.

“To me, this is a moral imperative. All children should have the food they need.”

Michele Zurakowski is passionate about feeding children. She’s a Greater Chicago Food Depository Champion Advocate and the executive director of the Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry, a Food Depository partner agency.

“We have to make sure that we feed the children who are going to be the future of our country,” she said.

Michele has been to Washington, D.C. and Springfield a number of times to advocate for children’s programs. Most recently, she attended Lobby Day with the Food Depository in May and went to Washington in March.

In Washington, she was part of a group advocating for a strong Child Nutrition Reauthorization, which funds children’s programs including school breakfast, lunch and summer meal programs, as well as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).

The Child Nutrition Reauthorization is set to expire September 30. Michele knows the impact those programs have, as half of the households the pantry serves includes a child.

“I see people coming to the pantry who are trying to do everything they can to make things right for their family and it’s motivating,” she said. “Without programs like school breakfast and lunch it would be hard for families.”

The U.S. Senate recently postponed a discussion on its version of the bill and the U.S. House has yet to announce plans for a Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill.

In the meantime, the Food Depository is advocating for the Hunger Free Summer for Kids Act and the Summer Meals Act. These bills include priorities that could be incorporated into the final Child Nutrition Reauthorization.

If the House and Senate don’t approve a bill by September 30, the deadline to reauthorize the legislation could be extended to October 31.

The 1 in 5: A summer of feeding children

Itzel, Julian and their mother, Blanca, at the Resurrection Project Lunch Bus stop in Pilsen.

Every weekday this summer, just after 1 p.m., the Greater Chicago Food Depository’s Lunch Bus pulled up to a church painted with vibrant murals in Pilsen. Some days, nearly 100 children anxiously waited as a daily ritual unfolded.

A volunteer set up a table. A door swung open. A smiling AmeriCorps member begins to distribute the meals and milk. The Lunch Bus has arrived.

Nine-year-old Itzel, her 2-year-old brother Julian and their mother Blanca were there nearly every day this summer.

“Everything is so expensive so this helps,” said Blanca. “We have to keep things tight right now.”

Blanca is currently unemployed, but her husband is working.

“His income just isn’t enough for us,” she said.

The children ate nutritious meals at the Lunch Bus stop, but Itzel’s favorite part about the Lunch Bus isn’t a specific food.

“Just having the lunch is my favorite part,” she said.

Scenes similar to this one occurred at 21 Lunch Bus stops each day this summer. In total, the Lunch Bus distributed approximately 42,900 meals. And, through all the Food Depository’s summer meal programs, 600,000 meals were delivered throughout Cook County – the organization’s largest-ever response to summer hunger.

The Food Depository’s summer hunger response would not be possible without the funding allocated by the Child Nutrition Reauthorization – a federal bill that funds children’s programs throughout the country. This legislation expired at the end of September. The Food Depository continues to advocate for a strong Child Nutrition Reauthorization that helps ensure children have the food they need to grow up healthy. Learn how to make a difference at chicagosfoodbank.org/advocacy.