Northern Illinois Food Bank officially will open its new Community Nutrition and Food Distribution Center Tuesday, Sept. 27, at 273 Dearborn Court in Geneva. The custom-designed Center is built to more effectively meet the needs of the growing number of hungry people in Northern Illinois.
Some of the attendees include Illinois Sen. (and food bank volunteer) John Millner (28th District); Juanita Martinez, Wayne Township Food Pantry, director of general assistance; Dan Adzia, Northern Illinois Food Bank board chair; Pete Schaefer, president and CEO, Northern Illinois Food Bank; Geneva Mayor Kevin R. Burns and more than 100 community residents and local dignitaries.
The number of hungry people is at its highest level in 50 years. Nearly one in four northern Illinois children live in households having difficulty meeting basic food needs. A 2010 study indicated that Northern Illinois Food Bank provides food to more than 60,000 people per week. Since then, need has grown as much as 50 percent.
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The new Center:
- Triples the freezer capacity
- Provides a dual-control refrigerator to keep dairy and produce at appropriate temperatures to prolong freshness
- Doubles the dry storage capacity
- Increases dock space, improves logistical efficiencies
- Is designed to provide the equivalent of up to 4 million meals per month
Northern Illinois Food Bank, is a 501(c)3 organization, acquires and distributes donated, government, and purchased food through a network of more than 600 partner agencies—food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and child and senior programs, across 13 Illinois counties (Boone, DuPage, DeKalb, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson, Will and Winnebago). In FY11 Northern Illinois Food Bank provided 34.8 million pounds, the equivalent of 29 million meals, to hungry people.
Find out what's happening in Genevawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
SOURCE: Northern Illinois Food Bank