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 discussion and food bank details

Yurko said the program initially emphasized durable items such as potatoes, onions and apples (which made up about 43% of distributed produce) but has increased variety and sped up distribution after quality concerns in 2022. “We haven’t had complaints in the last year and a half about the freshness of the product,” Yurko said. She described operational changes to shorten the time produce is held and to improve variety while balancing cost and quantity.

The food bank uses county funds primarily to buy fresh produce; it also uses some dollars for personal-care items and a small administrative allocation to cover ordering, handling and distribution costs, including salaries and transport. Yurko said volunteers perform much of the processing of produce but that the organization employs roughly 170 staff across its network.

Yurko reviewed county participation and coverage: 11 partner agencies in DuPage receive roughly three-quarters of the county-distributed food, and the food bank has identified one priority underserved area in DuPage’s northeast (noted in the presentation as the Wood Dale/Addison Township area). She listed three townships currently participating in the county program as Milton, Wayne and Lyle and said others (York, Addison and Bloomingdale) are partnered with the food bank but are not participating in the county-funded program at present.

Demand, risk and funding outlook

Using the food bank’s client-tracking system (Link2Feed), Yurko showed that visits to the network fell after initial pandemic spikes, then rose again beginning in late 2021 as federal pandemic-era benefits declined and inflation accelerated. Yurko said 45% of unique individuals in recent data identify as Hispanic/Latinx and noted concern that fear of enforcement actions could depress visits, although she said the food bank’s November–January data did not show that effect yet.

Yurko warned that federal changes to SNAP allotments or reduced state pass-throughs could further increase demand. She estimated — and described the figure as an estimate — that changes such as SNAP reductions and tariff-driven price pressures could add roughly 65,000–85,000 visits across the food bank network under certain scenarios.

Current DuPage funding and next steps

Committee discussion clarified that the county currently has roughly $1.1 million set aside for food in this program (a $500,000 allocation noted in the county chair’s 2025 budget and approximately $600,000 from ARPA interest/reserves discussed during the meeting). Yurko told the committee the current DuPage allocation is expected to sustain the program through the end of June. Committee members asked for monthly updates on visits and client demographics so the board can respond quickly if demand spikes.

The committee asked the county finance staff, together with county staff and the food bank, to negotiate the terms of an extension contract that would preserve flexibility for the food bank (including modest administrative costs), maintain the ability to purchase dairy and protein items when needed, and ensure county funds are allocated to DuPage recipients. Committee members requested the negotiated agreement be returned to the committee for approval at its next meeting; the committee voiced consensus to move the $1,000,000 proposal forward but did not take a formal roll-call vote at the Feb. 18 session.

Quotes and local context

“We are tremendously grateful for the funding, for the foresight, for the care that DuPage County Board has shown to Northern Illinois Food Bank and our network here in DuPage County,” Yurko said. On projected impact of additional funding, Yurko said the food bank could provide about 1,600,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables with an extra $1,000,000.

Ending

County members and staff agreed to negotiate contract terms with the Northern Illinois Food Bank and return a contract proposal to the Human Services Committee at its next meeting, with monthly operational updates from the food bank recommended in the interim. The proposal discussed would preserve the program’s focus on fresh produce while allowing some flexibility to procure dairy or protein when agency partners indicate those needs.