Feeding Illinois and its food bank partners are essential to those who are hungry in our state. Because hunger is often a hidden problem, our perception of who is hungry in our state can be distorted. In reality hunger affects a significant portion of our state’s population. 

• Over 1.9 million people are considered food insecure, which means they do not have regular access to nutritious food. 
• 38 percent of food insecure households and 34 percent of children in Illinois exceed federal poverty guidelines that would qualify them for food assistance. Those individuals must rely on charities to feed themselves and their families. 
• 42 percent of those who are food insecure qualify for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program) 1,645,722 Illinois residents participated in the program in 2010. This is an 11% increase from the previous year. 
• In 2009, enrollment in free and reduced price school meals continued to climb. More than 770,000 Illinois children received lunch and 293,000 received breakfast.

Visit our Hunger Study and Map the Meal Gap pages to learn more about how hunger is impacting Illinois.