One in nine people in Northern Illinois is hunger-insecure.  Hunger insecurity means that a household does not have access to enough safe, nutritious food for an active and healthy life.  These households have reduced the variety and quality of means, and may have irregular food intake because of an inadequate source of food.  When a paycheck cannot buy enough food, hunger insecure people turn to a food agency like Green Harvest in an effort to feed their families. (Source: USDA* October 2003.)

• One in nine people in Illinois lives in poverty.
• The poverty income level for a family of four is $17,050 annually as determined by the US Department of Health and Human Services. 
• 15,000,000 children in America live in poverty.
• One in four children go to bed hungry.
• 70% of all children living in poverty live in households where one parent works.
• One in five persons in a soup kitchen line is a child.
• 96,000,000,000 pounds of food is thrown away each year by the Food Service Industry. (Source: FoodChain)

The Need Continues!

With thousands of people being laid off in this area, the need for food and personal hygiene items rises.  Low and fixed income people are having a hard time making ends meet.  Seniors are having to decide if they should eat or buy medicine; single parents are deciding to pay rent, buy cough medicine, or food for their children.  There is a continuous need in the four counties area that we service for food and personal hygiene products. 

Since our creation, we have been responsible for providing food and personal items to low-income families, retiree's and those recently laid off.  Our organization is located in the Four Corners area in Illinois.

What Can You Do?

We are currently seeking non-perishable food, personal hygiene items, and gift cards from local grocery stores, Target, and Wal-Mart.  These cards allow us to buy perishable foods such as milk, eggs, bread, and produce as the need arises. Please see The Need page for details.