How We Nourish Our Community
Every day, we distribute an average of 200,000 pounds of food to people in need across Chicago and Cook County. We distribute food through our network of partner agencies and programs, including mobile distributions and responses for children, older adults and veterans.
Where Our Food Comes From
The food we distribute is donated, purchased or part of federal government programs. Food donations happen at every point along the supply chain, from farmers and manufacturers to distributors, wholesalers and retail grocers. We purchase food in bulk to meet the needs of our community and ensure the availability of nutritious options. We also distribute a variety of foods from The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP)—a federal program of the USDA.
Local businesses, professional and community organizations, schools and faith groups sponsor around 700 food drives each year. Start a food drive today.
If you are involved in the food industry, learn more about making a food donation.
Preparing for Distribution
Volunteers and employees at our food bank and training center help prepare food for distribution. Food is inspected, sorted, repacked and labeled for distribution to agencies and programs. Then our fleet of climate-controlled vehicles picks up and distributes food safely throughout Cook County.
Delivering on Our Mission
Partner agencies serve food in a variety of ways depending on the needs of their clients. Most food is distributed across soup kitchens, shelters, food pantries and mobile food distribution.
