DuPage County committee hears Northern Illinois Food Bank report, signals support for $1 million extension

The DuPage County Human Services Committee on Feb. 18 heard a presentation from Julie Yurko, executive director of the Northern Illinois Food Bank, on a county-funded produce program that began in October 2022 and provided fresh food to pantries across the county. Committee members expressed a consensus to place a proposal on the next committee agenda to direct roughly $1,000,000 in county funds to continue the program past the end of June, and directed finance staff to negotiate the contract details with the food bank.

The county-funded program has, Yurko said, awarded more than $4,000,000 and purchased and distributed more than 4,600,000 pounds of fresh produce to partner agencies across the food bank’s 13-county network; the bulk of that DuPage allocation has gone to fresh produce. Yurko said the food bank estimates an additional $1,000,000 would procure about 1,600,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables and that the food bank is currently spending about $100,000 a month on the DuPage allocation.

The nut graf: committee members cited rising demand — driven by inflation and possible federal SNAP changes — in arguing for a quick decision. Committee members and the food bank discussed program reach, quality controls taken after early complaints about produce freshness, and how county funds and federal pass-throughs interact with the food bank’s purchasing and distribution operations.

Committee…