Feeding Today, Changing Tomorrow: Greater Chicago Food Depository

Many people know the Greater Chicago Food Depository, founded in 1979, as Chicago’s food bank. Last year alone, it partnered with more than 850 organizations to provide 96 million meals to more than 2.3 million households. But the Food Depository isn’t just feeding neighbors in need – it’s working to end hunger through strategic policy and advocacy to strengthen the social safety net.

Central to that effort are programs that help ensure families can reliably access food, including the Child Tax Credit, direct cash assistance, Medicaid, federal nutrition programs that provide school and summer meals for children, and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). SNAP provides monthly funds for buying food, and is a front-line defense against hunger for vulnerable groups, especially children, seniors, and individuals with disabilities. For every one meal that a local food bank provides, SNAP provides nine.

In 2025, amid rising food insecurity and changes to SNAP eligibility, the Food Depository launched an awareness campaign to address misconceptions about the program and help more Chicagoans maintain access to critical food assistance. Thanks in part to this advocacy, the State of Illinois lowered its estimate of SNAP participants at risk of losing benefits from 450,000 to 250,000 or less.

“A meal can help a family today, and maybe even tomorrow. But policy can change their future.”

DANIELLE PERRY
Vice President of Policy and Advocacy
Greater Chicago Food Depository