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DuPage County board member outlines $4.8 million in new food-security funding at Carol Stream meeting
Summary
DuPage County Board member Greg Sarzi told the Carol Stream village board the county voted $4.8 million in April toward food-insecurity efforts, dividing funds among the Northern Illinois Food Bank, a Loaves & Fishes capital expansion, a Conservation Foundation farm-to-pantry program and a proposed transformational challenge grant.
Greg Sarzi, a DuPage County Board member and chair of the county human services committee, briefed the Carol Stream village board on county efforts to address food insecurity during the meeting on June 8.
"We've put 12.5 million dollars toward food insecurity over the last six years," Sarzi said, and he told the board that in April the county approved another $4.8 million. He described how the April allocation breaks down: $2 million to the Northern Illinois Food Bank for countywide food distribution including fresh produce; $2.5 million as a capital grant to Loaves & Fishes in Naperville to expand cold-storage capacity so more pantries can store and distribute perishable items; $300,000 to the Conservation Foundation for a farm-to-pantry program; and $2 million proposed as a challenge grant to encourage transformational pantry projects across DuPage County.
Sarzi said some of the county funding comes from surplus and budget line items rather than federal CARES Act funds. He said the $4.8 million package aims to increase pantry capacity and distribution, particularly cold storage that many pantries lack. "Many pantries are only open for one or two days a week because they just don't have the capacity," he said.
Board members thanked Sarzi for the update and for the county's efforts; the board did not take action on county funding but recorded the informational report.
What happens next: Sarzi said the county will vote on and implement the allocations at the county level; local pantries and agencies will receive funds through the described channels.
