Community Partner Spotlight: Greater Chicago Food Depository

Mission

The Food Depository’s mission is to end hunger. We believe food is a basic human right. To achieve our mission, we work in partnership with a network of community-based organizations and individuals. Together, we connect our neighbors with healthy food, lift our voices and advance solutions that address the root causes of hunger – poverty, systemic inequity, and structural racism.

CEO/President

Kate Maehr leads the Greater Chicago Food Depository in its mission to end hunger. As executive director and CEO, Kate guides the Food Depository’s daily response to food insecurity in Chicago and Cook County – a collective effort that includes food distribution with more than 800 community-based partners and programs.

Under Kate’s leadership, the Food Depository has expanded operations to meet rising demand for food assistance, developed new programs to serve priority populations, and advocated for strong anti-hunger policy at every level of government.

Services Offered

To meet our mission, the Food Depository distributes tens of millions of pounds of food to residents through a network of more than 800 pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and tailored, community-driven programs annually. We also implement innovative solutions to address the root causes of hunger and food insecurity. In particular, the Food Depository assists low-income individuals and families with enrolling in public benefits; advances racial equity; advocates for food security policies; operates workforce development training to prepare un/underemployed individuals for quality jobs; and coordinates capacity building for a network of food access partners and programs.

Current Projects

We optimize emergency food access to ensure neighbors facing food insecurity can access an equitable amount of nutritionally balanced food. We do this by providing and promoting nutritious food through over 500 food access partners, population-specific programs, prepared meals, and nutrition education initiatives. We also engage in public benefits outreach, policy and advocacy initiatives, and local investments that strengthen the safety net, and provide workforce development services to address unemployment.

Organizational impact to the community

In Fiscal Year 2024 through all of our food access initiatives, we will provide at least 100 million pounds of food to our community. Of this, one third will be fresh produce, which promotes positive health outcomes for our community members. Last year we submitted nearly 4,000 public benefits applications on behalf of eligible community members and were successful in supporting state Breakfast After the Bell and Farm to Food Bank legislation.

Funding Sources

The Food Depository is funded primarily by individual donors, government grants, and contributions by corporations and foundations. Johnson Foundation, Kresge Foundation, and MacArthur Foundation.

This spotlight is part of the Healthy City Collaborative, a program within the UIC Office of Community Engagement And Neighborhood Health Partnerships.

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