For Immediate Release: Chicago Region Food System Fund Awards $1,733,000 in Third Round of COVID-19 Response Grants

septiembre 1st, 2020

***Total of Nearly $3.4M Awarded Since June to 81 Grantees***

CONTACT:
Brandon Hayes
312-945-8416
brandon@boldbisonconsulting.com
(Media inquiries only/Solo consultas de medios)

(Chicago, IL) The Chicago Region Food System Fund awarded an additional $1,733,000 to non-profit organizations responding to the impacts of COVID-19 on Chicago region communities and the local food economy. These grants bring the total awarded by the fund to $3,373,000. Third round grant recipients are:

All Family Active ALFA, $25,000
Already Always Amazing, $20,000
Annie’s Table NFP $10,000
Apna Ghar, Inc. (Our Home), $50,000
Apostolic Faith Church $10,000
Arthur Lockhart Resource Institute, $10,000
Big Green, $10,000
BIG, NFP, $25,000
Black Lives Matter Chicago, $10,000
Black Oaks Center for Sustainable Living, $40,000
Brave Space Alliance, $100,000
Care for Real, $5,000
Carolyn and Karen Spiritual Healing House, $20,000
Chicago Bridge Project, $5,000
Chicago Dream Center, $20,000
Chicago Food Policy Action Council (ChiFresh Kitchen), $165,000
Chicago Lawn United Methodist Church, $20,000
Chicago Workers Collaborative, $100,000
Claretian Associates, $50,000
Cooperation Operation, $40,000
Eden Restoration Project, $10,000
Edward G. Irvin Foundation, $10,000
Eighteenth Street Development Corp, $35,000
Elawa Farm Foundation, $100,000
Federación de Clubes de Michoacanos, $50,000
Food Not Bombs, $25,000
Fuller Park Community Development Corporation, $10,000
Garfield Park Community Council, $25,000
Gary Comer Youth Center, $15,000
Grace Housing Complex, $10,000
Greater Chatham Initiative, $40,000
Henry Williams Foundation of Love, $35,000
Hope Charities, Inc, $25,000
ICNA Relief USA, $35,000
Inner City Muslim Action Network, $75,000
Inspiration Corporation, $20,000
InUrban Strategies, LLC, $10,000
Just Food Initiative of the Fox Valley, $10,000
A Just Harvest, $35,000
The Kindness Campaign, $10,000
Ladies of Virtue, NFP, $7,000
Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, $16,000
Maple Morgan Park Community Food Pantry Incorporated, $20,000
Midwest Food Bank NFP $20,000
Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, Inc $20,000
NeighborSpace $75,000
New Life Baptist Church of Bloom Township, $10,000
North Lawndale Greening Committee, $5,000
Un Nuevo Despertar – A New Awakening, $20,000
PS Its Social $20,000
Puerto Rican Cultural Center, $25,000
Reach Ministries, $5,000
Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, $30,000
The Roberti Community House, $25,000
SkyART NFP, $5,000
St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church, $10,000
Victory House of Prayer, $10,000
Warehouse Workers Justice Center, Inc., $90,000
YWCA Metropolitan Chicago $20,000

Project descriptions follow at the end of this release.

Grants awarded to date have focused on COVID-19 response. Later in 2020, the Fund will shift its focus to long-term work toward a resilient, racially and economically just local food system. With an investment of over $6.7M, the Chicago Region Food System Fund focuses on hunger and business disruption in the local food system—from production to processing to distribution to consumption—in an area approximately 200 miles from Chicago (about a day’s drive to/from the city). Priority will be given to organizations producing food in, and supplying food to, communities of color. Fresh Taste, fiscally sponsored by Forefront, manages the Fund.

“These organizations represent the breadth and range of response—at multiple levels and across multiple communities—to COVID-19,” said Karen Lehman, Director, Fresh Taste, and Chicago Region Food System Fund manager. “These organizations also represent important parts of the Chicago region’s local food system, which must support hungry neighbors, restaurateurs coping with reduced business, farmers reacting to changing markets, and essential workers throughout the supply chain.”

Major funders of the Chicago Region Local Food System Fund are The Builders Initiative, Food:Land:Opportunity (funded through the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust), Fresh Taste, James F. Beré Family Fund, Little Owl Foundation, The Lumpkin Family Foundation, Margot L. Pritzker Fund, Walder Foundation, and Walter Mander Foundation. The fund welcomes additional support. Visit ChicagoRegionFoodFund.org for more information.

Fresh Taste is a collaborative funder initiative committed to racial and economic equity and focused on changing the way food is grown, processed, distributed, and consumed in the Chicago region to promote healthy land, healthy people, and healthy communities. Fresh Taste’s vision is that residents of the Chicago region eat local fruits, vegetables, whole grains, meat, and dairy products produced through regenerative agriculture and brought to tables by local businesses.

Forefront is Illinois’ membership association for nonprofits, grantmakers, advisors, public agencies, and their allies. They provide education, advocacy, thought leadership, and facilitate collective action around issues that are important to its members and to the sector. Forefront oversees and is responsible for all financial and legal activities of Fresh Taste.

Grantee Project Descriptions

All Family Active ALFA $25,000
All Family Active ALFA is bringing food pantries to the most affected communities, such as the elderly, and coordinating Latin American consulates to provide rotating food pantries in Latinx communities.

Already Always Amazing $20,000
In response to COVID-19, Already Always Amazing is expanding its six-year-old Destination Safe Haven Summer Program, which provides well-prepared, nutritious meals to children, to include families and seniors in Chicago’s South Side communities.

Annie’s Table NFP $10,000
Annie’s Table feeds vulnerable populations hot meals two times each month and provides groceries and non-perishables to families in need.

Apna Ghar, Inc. (Our Home) $50,000
Apna Ghar serves immigrant, refugee, and marginalized survivors of gender violence. They are partnering with Global Garden Refugee Training Farm to provide access to fresh produce for survivors and communities across Chicago and its suburbs.

Apostolic Faith Church $10,000
Apostolic Faith Church distributes food boxes meant to feed a family of four with fresh produce and proteins and sometimes other stable items. They also provide lunches to essential workers (local hospitals, nursing homes, police departments) along with the homeless community at 51st Street and the Dan Ryan Expressway.

Arthur Lockhart Resource Institute $10,000
The Arthur Lockhart Resource Institute (ALRI) works to support the health and well-being of residents in the Austin and West Garfield Park neighborhoods of Chicago, which have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and its economic repercussions. Since the start of the pandemic, ALRI has expanded its efforts to meet the spike in demand for its weekly pantry food.

Big Green $10,000
Big Green has pivoted in response to COVID-19 to support families by turning their Learning Gardens in Chicago into “Giving Gardens.” They are planting and harvesting 50 Giving Gardens to distribute fresh healthy produce to their hardest hit community members in Chicago in summer 2020 and an additional 100 Giving Gardens in fall 2020.

BIG, NFP $25,000
Through their Emergency Vegetable Program, BIG: Blacks in Green is delivering free, fresh produce to neighbors in West Woodlawn. The program focuses on individuals with histories of obesity and high-blood pressure, conditions that are prevalent in the Black community and have been linked to COVID-19 death and disability.

Black Lives Matter Chicago $10,000
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, BLM Chicago leveraged a large group of volunteers and resources to support food pantry pop-ups in Black communities on the South and West Sides of Chicago. Supplies include non-perishable groceries and basic PPE.

Black Oaks Center for Sustainable Living $40,000
Black Oaks is partnering with Gourmet Gorilla, who received a USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program contract, to deliver food boxes in the South Side of Chicago and in the South Suburbs.

Brave Space Alliance $100,000
Brave Space Alliance is the first Black-led, trans-led LGBTQ center located on the South Side of Chicago. In response to the pandemic, Brave Space Alliance has formed a partnership with Center on Halsted and with Chi City Foods LLC to deliver groceries for emergency food aid to hard hit residents living on the South Side of Chicago.

Care for Real $5,000
During the next 6 months, Care for Real will provide hunger relief to all who need it through increased warehousing and distribution of donated food.

Carolyn and Karen Spiritual Healing House $20,000
Carolyn and Karen Spiritual Healing House (CKSHH) is collaborating with community stakeholders and veteran-serving organizations to provide direct assistance to elderly and homeless veterans across Chicago. CKSHH is providing food obtained from local urban farmers and farmers markets to serve 250 veterans.

Chicago Bridge Project $5,000
The Chicago Bridge Project is redistributing resources from office buildings and restaurants to food pantries, service organizations, tent encampments, and community members, thus reducing food waste, diverting waste from landfills, and providing nutritious food to people in need. They are also able to coordinate USDA Farm To Table shipments and deliveries.

Chicago Dream Center $20,000
Chicago Dream Center is providing groceries to over 6.400 individuals a month through their Manna for Life Food Pantry. Throughout the pandemic, they have continued to serve homeless populations and have continued to operate their women’s rehabilitation program.

Chicago Food Policy Action Council (ChiFresh Kitchen) $165,000
Structured as a worker cooperative, ChiFresh Kitchen is a Chicago-based food service contractor owned and determined by formerly incarcerated Chicagoans, primarily Black women. The Chicago Food Policy Action Council (CFPAC) is partnering with ChiFresh to address multiple effects of the pandemic on the Chicagoland food ecosystem. Building off the Feeding Chicagoland Now partnership already funded by the Chicago Region Food System Fund, CFPAC is expanding its emergency meal program to provide 20,000 nutrient-dense, freshly cooked meals to south and west sides residents facing food insecurity.

Chicago Lawn United Methodist Church $20,000
In response to COVID-19, Chicago Lawn United Methodist Church Jesus Christ Food Pantry is expanding its service area beyond Chicago Lawn, Gage Park, Englewood, West Lawn, Little Village, and Pilsen. It is an emergency food dispensary that now serves new food recipients from Des Plaines, Romeoville, Aurora, Plainfield, and elsewhere in the state.

Chicago Workers Collaborative $100,000
The Chicago Workers Collaborative (CWC) assists essential workers in meatpacking, industrial food production, and food distribution warehouses to mitigate the impacts/infection rates of COVID-19 in their workplaces. CWC is training and deploying low-income temporary staffing workers as COVID-19 Community Navigators on Illinois Department of Public Health guidance and how to report unhealthy working conditions to local departments of health which enforce the guidance.

Claretian Associates $50,000
Claretian Associates is the lead organization for the South Chicago Food Network, a collaborative of four food pantries and the Greater Chicago Food Depository Pantry to provide food access to residents experiencing food insecurity and hunger. Because of COVID-19 and the unrest that damaged small grocers in served communities, food access is at an all time low. In response, Claretian Associates is offering vouchers to the hardest hit and most vulnerable.

Cooperation Operation $40,000
Cooperation Operation’s community garden program grows food for people in Chicago’s Pullman and Roseland neighborhoods, partnering with Brave Space Alliance’s Pop-Up Pantry project for distribution. They are increasing their cultivation and production capacity for crops through the fall.

Eden Restoration Project $10,000
Eden Restoration Project está ampliando su capacidad para instalar huertos comunitarios y apoyar los mercados de agricultores para servir a su comunidad durante la pandemia de COVID-19.

Edward G. Irvin Foundation $10,000
The Edward G. Irvin Foundation/Woodlawn Community Produce Pantry will provide free COVID-19 testing and face masks during their produce distribution events through 2021.

Eighteenth Street Development Corp $35,000
Eighteenth Street Development Corp is using their signature program, Food for Hope, as a critical building block for community resilience. They orchestrate and organize the packaging and distribution of hundreds of culturally appropriate food bags at on-site locations across the Chicagoland area.

Elawa Farm Foundation $100,000
Elawa Farm is partnering with Bella Ru Catering to distribute locally sourced grocery bags to predominantly Latinx communities across Lake County, including Waukegan, North Chicago, and Round Lake.

Federación de Clubes de Michoacanos $50,000
Federación de Clubes de Michoacanos will continue its COVID-19 food banks until the end of the year. Many of those who use the food banks are food chain workers.

Food Not Bombs $25,000
In response to COVID-19, Food Not Bombs is partnering with the Chicago Mutual Aid Network to organize emergency food grocery delivery and distribution to people in need throughout the city.

Fuller Park Community Development Corporation $10,000
Fuller Park Community Development Corporation is working in collaboration with farmers and chefs to provide free meals to 30 Fuller Park families every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Garfield Park Community Council $25,000
The Garfield Park Community Council has developed an online market and hosts four socially-distanced outdoor markets and additional pop-up food events at senior housing buildings. Seven local vendors offer food and healthy products, and the Garden Network sold 200 lbs. of produce at the July market.

Gary Comer Youth Center $15,000
Gary Comer Youth Center provides services and partners with other organizations in Chatham, Greater Grand Crossing, Avalon, and Auburn-Gresham. The Center is a self-sponsored Child and Adult Care Food Program and Summer Service Food Program site. It currently grows produce on its nearly 2-acre urban farm providing weekly donations of fresh, organic food to local food pantries and community partners. The Center collaborates with local restaurants and businesses of the 75th and 79th Street corridors to provide half-price produce and general support for business operations.

Grace Housing Complex $10,000
Grace Housing Complex works with those who have been directly impacted by COVID-19 in the South Deering, Roseland, and Englewood communities. Their “You Got The Juice” program initiative provides direct emergency food assistance to targeted residents.

Greater Chatham Initiative $40,000
COVID-19 restrictions reduced restaurants’ sales by 65% and had a big negative ripple effect on the South Side economy where 45% of businesses are food enterprises. To survive, restaurateurs moved to online ordering/delivery using cost-prohibitive apps. To make online ordering/delivery costs affordable, the Greater Chatham Initiative is implementing its new South Side Community Delivery Service.

Henry Williams Foundation of Love $35,000
The Growcery Bus Project is designed to increase exposure to and access the benefits of farm-to-table foods while providing education to communities that are typically excluded from consideration. This project is a partnership between the Henry Williams Love Foundation and Green Table Talks.

Hope Charities, Inc $25,000
Hope Charities, Inc, in addition to its own food pantry located in Olympia Fields, supplies emergency food to ten local food pantries in the Chicago metro area and has increased its services in response to COVID-19.

ICNA Relief USA $35,000
ICNA-Relief is currently providing hunger prevention services to the Muslim community at two locations in Illinois: Chicago (Rogers Park area) and Glendale Heights. They provide 225 boxes of food each week to families impacted by COVID-19.

Inner City Muslim Action Network $75,000
Inner City Muslim Action Network provides 600 food and personal care packages to Southwest Side Chicago community members weekly through pick-up and delivery services.

Inspiration Corporation $20,000
Inspiration Cafe in Uptown has shifted from being a restaurant-style soup kitchen to providing to-go meals to any community member in need. The agency is expanding its connections with local farms and vendors to support the local food system and reduce food waste.

InUrban Strategies, LLC $10,000
InUrban Strategies, LLC is supporting business by providing access to capital, small business assistance, and resources to restaurants and food entrepreneurs. They are also coordinating a weekly food give away in Chicago’s West Haven Park and other locations in North Lawndale.

Just Food Initiative of the Fox Valley $10,000
The Just Food Initiative of the Fox Valley is currently working with senior homes to help provide healthy immune system-boosting food to the staff caregivers.

A Just Harvest $35,000
A Just Harvest is providing 200 hot meals each day, including delivering meals to those who are home-bound or “sheltering in place,” repurposing their dining room as a local food / supply donation gathering and distribution hub, converting their food pantry into an emergency food pick-up and delivery program, collecting and distributing hygiene supplies, and increasing their urban agriculture programming’s focus on food production.

The Kindness Campaign $10,000
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the number of shelters, tent cities (homeless settlements), and food insecure families the Kindness Campaign serves with nutritious meals. They are expanding the Kindness Kupboard initiative to include hygiene items, cleaning supplies, clothes, and well-being calls.

Ladies of Virtue, NFP $7,000
Ladies of Virtue is partnering with organizations to provide food and food system support to families and to provide emergency groceries when needed. They are using a plot at the Park 540 Community Garden to teach youth and their parents how to grow their own food.

Little Village Environmental Justice Organization $16,000
The Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) is supporting the Farm Food.Familias project with Getting Grown Collective in providing emergency food supplies to 400 families every week in the Little Village, Back of the Yards, Bronzeville, Englewood, South Shore, and South Chicago neighborhoods.

Maple Morgan Park Community Food Pantry Incorporated $20,000
Because of COVID-19, the number of households Maple Morgan Park Community Food Pantry serves has tripled. They have transitioned to a new model of outside drive-ups and walk-ups for contactless curbside emergency food assistance outreach distribution.

Midwest Food Bank NFP $20,000
Midwest Food Bank gathers food and distributes to non-profit food pantries free of charge. In Illinois, they serve over 700 agencies from locations in Normal, Morton, and Peoria, of which 19 are in Will and Cook Counties. Because of COVID-19, they are serving 20-50% more food than before the pandemic.

Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, Inc $20,000
Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago is providing a package of 10 freshly prepared meals to 24 senior households per week and a package of fresh produce to 63 general population households per week. These healthy and nutritious pre-made meals are sourced through Factor75. They are also managing the West Humboldt Park Farmers Market.

NeighborSpace $75,000
NeighborSpace is building on the current capacity of its community garden and neighborhood farm network to 1) grow and distribute food; 2) serve as safe, accessible space for outdoor activity; and 3) nurture community cohesion and resilience.

New Life Baptist Church of Bloom Township $10,000
New Life Baptist Church of Bloom Township is providing food and PPE to households and homeless members of their community.

North Lawndale Greening Committee $5,000
The North Lawndale Greening Committee is moving from an all-volunteer organization to hiring staff to coordinate existing gardens, pandemic response, volunteers, and additional resources to address the pandemic.

Un Nuevo Despertar – A New Awakening $20,000
A New Awakening serves the largely Latinx community of Little Village in Chicago. In response to COVID-19, they are distributing meals and masks to the families of unemployed people, single mothers, the elderly and the sick. In coordination with other community organizations, they started a farmers market in Little Village and also offer free classes, workshops, and counseling to address mental health.

PS Its Social $20,000
PS Its Social—an open cafe concept training program for highly at-risk young men and women—closed its cafes in March because of COVID-19 and shifted to teaching its students by providing individual meals for clients in shelters in Evanston and food boxes to support the closing of many pantries in Lake County, primarily Highwood.

Puerto Rican Cultural Center $25,000
The Puerto Rican Cultural Center is expanding its food program by purchasing a food van to bring fresh and culturally appropriate foods to families who cannot access other forms of food-related support, while conforming to social distancing requirements.

Reach Ministries $5,000
Reach Ministries is providing home deliveries of food, focusing on senior citizens.

Restaurant Opportunities Centers United $30,000
Restaurant Opportunities Center of Chicago is the local chapter of the national ROC United network. In response to COVID-19, they are revising their workforce development program, which prepares low-wage restaurant workers, most of whom are people of color, for higher-paying positions. They are also advocating for the Essential Workers Bill of Rights, which demands that restaurants offer paid sick leave, hazard pay, personal protective equipment, and a living wage.

The Roberti Community House $25,000
Roberti Community House is procuring, preparing, and distributing emergency food to the food insecure in Lake County with an emphasis on the communities of Waukegan and North Chicago, which have the highest poverty and COVID-19 in the county.

SkyART NFP $5,000
SkyART is shifting its Family Table program into delivering fresh food, produce, and recipes to their young studio programs participants and their families, while offering them local chef-led cooking tutorials to participate at home in the next three to six months.

St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church $10,000
In response to COVID-19, St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church is providing food and clothes to their community.

Victory House of Prayer $10,000
Victory House of Prayer is delivering much needed food, PPE, and access to life saving information and resources in underserved neighborhoods.

Warehouse Workers Justice Center, Inc. $90,000
Warehouse Workers Justice Center, Inc. is providing organizing, legal rights information, and PPE to essential warehouse workers in Will County, including vital food distribution warehouses in the area. They are pairing PPE and food distribution with ongoing online workers’ rights workshops.

YWCA Metropolitan Chicago $20,000
YWCA Metropolitan Chicago is providing more than 2,000 meals per week out of YWCA locations in the south loop StreetWise office to a homeless population and in Woodlawn. They are also partnering with The University of Chicago, Blue Cross Blue Shield, World Central Kitchen, and local catering small businesses to distribute between 600-1,500 fresh meals per week.

— — —

EL FONDO DEL SISTEMA ALIMENTARIO REGIONAL DE CHICAGO OTORGA $ 1,733,000 EN LA TERCERA RONDA DE SUBVENCIONES DE RESPUESTA COVID-19

***Total de casi $3.4 millones otorgados desde junio a 81 beneficiarios***

(Chicago, IL – September 1, 2020) El Fondo del Sistema Alimentario Regional de Chicago otorgó $1,733,000 adicionales a organizaciones sin fines de lucro que respondieron a los impactos del COVID-19 en las comunidades de la región de Chicago y la economía alimentaria local. Estas subvenciones elevan el total otorgado por el fondo a $3,373,000. Los beneficiarios de la subvención de la tercera ronda son:

All Family Active ALFA, $25,000
Already Always Amazing, $20,000
Annie’s Table NFP $10,000
Apna Ghar, Inc. (Our Home), $50,000
Apostolic Faith Church $10,000
Arthur Lockhart Resource Institute, $10,000
Big Green, $10,000
BIG, NFP, $25,000
Black Lives Matter Chicago, $10,000
Black Oaks Center for Sustainable Living, $40,000
Brave Space Alliance, $100,000
Care for Real, $5,000
Carolyn and Karen Spiritual Healing House, $20,000
Chicago Bridge Project, $5,000
Chicago Dream Center, $20,000
Chicago Food Policy Action Council (ChiFresh Kitchen), $165,000
Chicago Lawn United Methodist Church, $20,000
Chicago Workers Collaborative, $100,000
Claretian Associates, $50,000
Cooperation Operation, $40,000
Eden Restoration Project, $10,000
Edward G. Irvin Foundation, $10,000
Eighteenth Street Development Corp, $35,000
Elawa Farm Foundation, $100,000
Federación de Clubes de Michoacanos, $50,000
Food Not Bombs, $25,000
Fuller Park Community Development Corporation, $10,000
Garfield Park Community Council, $25,000
Gary Comer Youth Center, $15,000
Grace Housing Complex, $10,000
Greater Chatham Initiative, $40,000
Henry Williams Foundation of Love, $35,000
Hope Charities, Inc, $25,000
ICNA Relief USA, $35,000
Inner City Muslim Action Network, $75,000
Inspiration Corporation, $20,000
InUrban Strategies, LLC, $10,000
Just Food Initiative of the Fox Valley, $10,000
A Just Harvest, $35,000
The Kindness Campaign, $10,000
Ladies of Virtue, NFP, $7,000
Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, $16,000
Maple Morgan Park Community Food Pantry Incorporated, $20,000
Midwest Food Bank NFP $20,000
Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, Inc $20,000
NeighborSpace $75,000
New Life Baptist Church of Bloom Township, $10,000
North Lawndale Greening Committee, $5,000
Un Nuevo Despertar – A New Awakening, $20,000
PS Its Social $20,000
Puerto Rican Cultural Center, $25,000
Reach Ministries, $5,000
Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, $30,000
The Roberti Community House, $25,000
SkyART NFP, $5,000
St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church, $10,000
Victory House of Prayer, $10,000
Warehouse Workers Justice Center, Inc., $90,000
YWCA Metropolitan Chicago $20,000

Las descripciones de los proyectos se encuentran al final de este comunicado.

Las subvenciones otorgadas hasta la fecha se han centrado en la respuesta COVID-19. Más adelante en 2020, el Fondo cambiará su enfoque hacia el trabajo a largo plazo hacia un sistema alimentario local resistente, racial y económicamente justo. Con una inversión de más de $ 6.7M, el Fondo del Sistema Alimentario Regional de Chicago se enfoca en el hambre y la interrupción del negocio en el sistema alimentario local, desde la producción hasta el procesamiento, la distribución y el consumo, en un área aproximadamente a 200 millas de Chicago (aproximadamente un día en automóvil hasta / de la ciudad). Se dará prioridad a las organizaciones que producen alimentos y suministran alimentos a las comunidades de color. Fresh Taste, patrocinado fiscalmente por Forefront, administra el Fondo.

“Estas organizaciones representan la amplitud y el rango de respuesta, en múltiples niveles y en múltiples comunidades, al COVID-19”, dijo Karen Lehman, directora de Fresh Taste y gerente del Fondo del Sistema Alimentario Regional de Chicago. “Estas organizaciones también representan partes importantes del sistema alimentario local de la región de Chicago, que debe apoyar a los vecinos hambrientos, a los restauradores que se enfrentan a la reducción del negocio, a los agricultores que reaccionan a los mercados cambiantes y a los trabajadores esenciales en toda la cadena de suministro”.

Donantes Principales del Fondo del Sistema Alimentario Regional de Chicago The Builders Initiative, Food:Land:Opportunity (funded through the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust), Fresh Taste, James F. Beré Family Fund, Little Owl Foundation, The Lumpkin Family Foundation, Margot L. Pritzker Fund, Walder Foundation, y Walter Mander Foundation. El Fondo agradece cualquier apoyo adicional. Visite ChicagoRegionFoodFund.org para más información.

Fresh Taste es una iniciativa colaborativa filantrópica comprometida a la equidad racial y económica y centrada en cambiar la forma en que se cultivan, procesan, distribuyen y consumen los alimentos en la región de Chicago para promover una tierra saludable, personas saludables, y comunidades saludables. La visión de Fresh Taste es que los residentes de la región de Chicago coman frutas, verduras, granos integrales, carne y productos lácteos locales producidos a través de la agricultura regenerativa y llevados a las mesas por las empresas locales.

Forefront es la asociación de miembros de Illinois para organizaciones sin fines de lucro, donantes, asesores, agencias públicas y sus aliados. Proporcionan educación, abogacía, liderazgo de pensamiento, y facilitan las acciones colectivas en torno a temas que son importantes para sus miembros y para el sector. Forefront supervisa y es responsable por todas las actividades financieras y legales de Fresh Taste

Proyectos de los Recipiendarios

All Family Active ALFA $25,000
All Family Active ALFA está llevando despensas de alimentos a las comunidades más afectadas, como los ancianos, y coordinando los consulados latinoamericanos para proporcionar despensas de alimentos rotativas en las comunidades latinx.

Already Always Amazing $20,000
En respuesta a COVID-19, Already Always Amazing está aumentando su programa de verano Destination Safe Haven, que ofrece comida nutritiva y bien preparada a los niños, incluyendo también a familias y personas mayores en las comunidades del lado sur de Chicago.

Annie’s Table NFP $10,000
Annie’s Table alimenta a las poblaciones vulnerables con comidas calientes dos veces al mes y proporciona alimentos y productos no perecederos a las familias necesitadas.

Apna Ghar, Inc. (Our Home) $50,000
Apna Ghar atiende a inmigrantes, refugiados y sobrevivientes marginados de la violencia de género. Se están asociando con Global Garden Refugee Training Farm para brindar acceso a productos frescos a los sobrevivientes y las comunidades de Chicago y sus suburbios.

Apostolic Faith Church $10,000
Apostolic Faith Church distribuye cajas de alimentos destinadas a alimentar a una familia de cuatro con productos frescos y proteínas y, a veces, otros artículos estables. También proporcionan almuerzos a los trabajadores esenciales (hospitales locales, hogares de ancianos, departamentos de policía) junto con la comunidad de personas sin hogar en 51st Street y Dan Ryan Expressway.

Arthur Lockhart Resource Institute $10,000
El Arthur Lockhart Resource Institute (ALRI) trabaja para apoyar la salud y el bienestar de los residentes de los vecindarios de Austin y West Garfield Park en Chicago, que se han visto afectados de manera desproporcionada por el COVID-19 y sus repercusiones económicas. Desde el comienzo de la pandemia, ALRI ha ampliado sus esfuerzos para satisfacer el aumento en la demanda para la comida de su despensa semanal.

Big Green $10,000
Big Green se ha adaptado en respuesta al COVID-19 para apoyar a las familias al convertir sus Learning Gardens en Chicago en “Giving Gardens.” Están plantando y cosechando 50 Giving Gardens para distribuir productos frescos y saludables a los miembros de la comunidad más afectados en Chicago en el verano de 2020 y están habilitando 100 Giving Gardens adicionales en el otoño de 2020.

BIG, NFP $25,000
A través de su Programa de verduras de emergencia, BIG: Blacks in Green está entregando productos frescos y gratuitos a los vecinos de West Woodlawn. El programa se enfoca en personas con antecedentes de obesidad e hipertensión, condiciones que prevalecen en la comunidad negra y que se han relacionado con la muerte y la discapacidad por COVID-19.

Black Lives Matter Chicago $10,000
A raíz de la pandemia de COVID-19, BLM Chicago aprovechó un gran grupo de voluntarios y recursos para apoyar las despensas emergentes de alimentos en las comunidades negras en los lados sur y oeste de Chicago. Los suministros incluyen alimentos no perecederos y equipo de protección personal básico.

Black Oaks Center for Sustainable Living $40,000
Black Oaks se está cooperando con Gourmet Gorilla en la entrega de comida contratada por USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program en lugares en el South Side de Chicago y en los South Suburbs.

Brave Space Alliance $100,000
Brave Space Alliance es el primer centro LGBTQ liderado por negros y por personas trans ubicado en el lado sur de Chicago. En respuesta a la pandemia, Brave Space Alliance se asoció con Center on Halsted y con Chi City Foods LLC para entregar abarrotes para ayuda alimentaria de emergencia a los residentes más afectados que viven en el lado sur de Chicago.

Care for Real $5,000
Durante los próximos 6 meses, Care for Real brindará alivio del hambre a todos los que lo necesiten mediante un mayor almacenamiento y distribución de alimentos donados.

Carolyn and Karen Spiritual Healing House $20,000
Carolyn and Karen Spiritual Healing House (CKSHH) está colaborando con las personas interesadas de la comunidad y las organizaciones que prestan servicios a los veteranos para brindar asistencia directa a los veteranos ancianos y sin hogar en todo Chicago. CKSHH está proporcionando alimentos obtenidos de agricultores urbanos y mercados de agricultores locales para servir a 250 veteranos.

Chicago Bridge Project $5,000
Chicago Bridge Project está redistribuyendo recursos de edificios de oficinas y restaurantes a despensas de alimentos, organizaciones de servicios, campamentos de personas sin casa, y miembros de la comunidad, reduciendo así el desperdicio de alimentos, desviando los desperdicios de los vertederos y proporcionando alimentos nutritivos a las personas necesitadas. También pueden coordinar los envíos y entregas de USDA Farm to Table.

Chicago Dream Center $20,000
Chicago Dream Center proporciona alimentos a más de 6.400 personas al mes a través de su despensa de alimentos Manna for Life. A lo largo de la pandemia, han seguido prestando servicios a las poblaciones sin hogar y han seguido operando su programa de rehabilitación de mujeres.

Chicago Food Policy Action Council (ChiFresh Kitchen) $165,000
Estructurada como una cooperativa de trabajadores, ChiFresh Kitchen es un contratista de servicios de alimentos con sede en Chicago que pertenece y está determinado por habitantes de Chicago anteriormente encarcelados, principalmente mujeres negras. El Chicago Food Policy Action Council (CFPAC) se está asociando con ChiFresh para abordar los múltiples efectos de la pandemia en el ecosistema alimentario de Chicago. Partiendo de la asociación Feeding Chicagoland Now ya financiada por el Fondo del Sistema Alimentario Regional de Chicago, CFPAC está ampliando su programa de comidas de emergencia para proporcionar 20.000 comidas recién cocinadas y densas en nutrientes a los residentes de los lados sur y oeste que enfrentan inseguridad alimentaria.

Chicago Lawn United Methodist Church $20,000
En respuesta al COVID-19, la despensa de alimentos Chicago Lawn United Methodist Church Jesus Christ Food Pantry está expandiendo su área de servicio más allá de Chicago Lawn, Gage Park, Englewood, West Lawn, Little Village y Pilsen. Es una despensa de alimentos de emergencia que ahora atiende a nuevos destinatarios de alimentos de Des Plaines, Romeoville, Aurora, Plainfield y otras partes del estado.

Chicago Workers Collaborative $100,000
El Chicago Workers Collaborative (CWC) ayuda a los trabajadores esenciales en los almacenes de empaque de carne, producción industrial de alimentos y distribución de alimentos para mitigar los impactos / tasas de infección de COVID-19 en sus lugares de trabajo. CWC está capacitando y desplegando trabajadores temporales de bajos ingresos como Navegadores Comunitarios COVID-19 sobre la orientación del Departamento de Salud Pública de Illinois y cómo informar las condiciones de trabajo insalubres a los departamentos de salud locales que hacen cumplir la orientación.

Claretian Associates $50,000
Claretian Associates da liderazgo a la South Chicago Food Network, una colaboración de cuatro despensas de alimentos y Greater Chicago Food Depository para brindar acceso a alimentos a los residentes que experimentan inseguridad alimentaria y hambre. Debido a COVID-19 y los disturbios que dañaron a los pequeños supermercados en las comunidades atendidas, el acceso a los alimentos está en su punto más bajo. En respuesta, Claretian Associates está ofreciendo vales a los más afectados y vulnerables.

Cooperation Operation $40,000
El programa de huertos comunitarios de Cooperation Operation cultiva alimentos para las personas en los vecindarios Pullman y Roseland de Chicago, en asociación con el proyecto Pop-Up Pantry de Brave Space Alliance para su distribución. Están aumentando su área de cultivo y producción de alimentos durante el otoño.

Edward G. Irvin Foundation $10,000
La Edward G. Irvin Foundation / Woodlawn Community Produce Pantry proporcionará pruebas de COVID-19 y máscaras faciales gratuitas durante sus eventos de distribución de productos hasta 2021.

Eighteenth Street Development Corp $35,000
Eighteenth Street Development Corp está utilizando su programa insignia, Food for Hope, como un pilar fundamental para la resiliencia comunitaria. Ellos organizan el empaque y la distribución de cientos de bolsas de alimentos culturalmente apropiadas en ubicaciones en el área de Chicago.

Elawa Farm Foundation $100,000
Elawa Farm se ha asociado con Bella Ru Catering para distribuir bolsas de comestibles de origen local a comunidades predominantemente latinx en todo el condado de Lake, incluidos Waukegan, North Chicago y Round Lake.

Federación de Clubes de Michoacanos $50,000
La Federación de Clubes de Michoacanos continuará con sus despensas de alimentos COVID-19 hasta fin de año. Muchos de los que utilizan las despensas son trabajadores de la cadena alimentaria.

Food Not Bombs $25,000
En respuesta al COVID-19, Food Not Bombs se ha asociado con la Red de Ayuda Mutua de Chicago para organizar la entrega y distribución de alimentos de emergencia a las personas necesitadas en toda la ciudad.

Fuller Park Community Development Corporation $10,000
Fuller Park Community Development Corporation está trabajando en colaboración con agricultores y chefs para proporcionar comidas gratis a 30 familias de Fuller Park todos los lunes, miércoles y viernes.

Garfield Park Community Council $25,000
El Garfield Park Community Council ha desarrollado un mercado en línea y maneja cuatro mercados al aire libre socialmente distanciados y eventos adicionales con comida en edificios de viviendas para personas mayores. Siete proveedores locales ofrecen alimentos y productos saludables, y Garden Network vendió 200 libras de productos en el mercado en julio.

Gary Comer Youth Center $15,000
Gary Comer Youth Center brinda servicios y se asocia con otras organizaciones en Chatham, Greater Grand Crossing, Avalon y Auburn-Gresham. El Centro es un Child and Adult Care Food Program Program y un Summer Service Food Program. Actualmente cultiva productos en su granja urbana de casi 2 acres que proporciona donaciones semanales de alimentos orgánicos frescos a las despensas de alimentos locales y a los socios comunitarios. El Centro colabora con restaurantes y negocios locales de los corredores de las calles 75 y 79 para proporcionar productos a mitad de precio y apoyo general para las operaciones comerciales.

Grace Housing Complex $10,000
Grace Housing Complex trabaja con aquellos que han sido afectados directamente por COVID-19 en las comunidades de South Deering, Roseland y Englewood. Su iniciativa del programa “You Got The Juice” brinda asistencia alimentaria de emergencia directa a los residentes más necesitados.

Greater Chatham Initiative $40,000
Las restricciones de COVID-19 redujeron las ventas de los restaurantes en 65% y tuvieron un gran efecto dominó negativo en la economía del South Side, donde el 45% de los negocios son empresas de alimentos. Para sobrevivir, los restauradores pasaron a hacer pedidos / entregas en línea utilizando aplicaciones con costos prohibitivos. Para hacer que los costos de pedidos / entrega en línea sean asequibles, la Iniciativa Greater Chatham está implementando su nuevo Servicio de Entrega Comunitaria del South Side.

Henry Williams Foundation of Love $35,000
El Growcery Bus Project está diseñado para aumentar la exposición y el acceso a los beneficios de los alimentos “de la granja a la mesa” al mismo tiempo que brinda educación a las comunidades que generalmente están excluidas. Este proyecto es una asociación entre Henry Williams Foundation of Love y Green Table Talks.

Hope Charities, Inc $25,000
Hope Charities, Inc, además de su propia despensa de alimentos ubicada en Olympia Fields, suministra alimentos de emergencia a diez despensas de alimentos locales en el área metropolitana de Chicago y ha aumentado sus servicios en respuesta al COVID-19.

ICNA Relief USA $35,000
ICNA-Relief ofrece servicios de prevención del hambre a la comunidad musulmán en dos lugares de Illinois: Chicago (área de Rogers Park) y Glendale Heights. Proporcionan 225 cajas de comida cada semana a las familias afectadas por COVID-19.

Inner City Muslim Action Network $75,000
Inner City Muslim Action Network proporciona semanalmente 600 paquetes de alimentos a los miembros de la comunidad del Southwest Side Chicago a través de servicios de recogida y entrega.

Inspiration Corporation $20,000
Inspiration Cafe en Uptown ha pasado de ser un comedor de beneficencia estilo restaurante a ofrecer comidas para llevar a cualquier miembro de la comunidad que lo necesite. La agencia está ampliando sus conexiones con granjas y proveedores locales para apoyar el sistema alimentario local y reducir el desperdicio de alimentos.

InUrban Strategies, LLC $10,000
InUrban Strategies, LLC apoya a las empresas al brindar acceso a capital, asistencia para pequeñas empresas y recursos a restaurantes y empresarios de alimentos. También están coordinando un obsequio semanal de comida en el West Haven Park de Chicago y otros lugares en North Lawndale.

Just Food Initiative of the Fox Valley $10,000
Just Food Initiative of the Fox Valley está trabajando actualmente con hogares de ancianos para ayudar a proporcionar alimentos saludables para mejorar el sistema inmunológico de los cuidadores.

A Just Harvest $35,000
A Just Harvest ofrece 200 comidas calientes todos los días, incluida la entrega de comidas a aquellos que están confinados en casa o “refugiándose en el lugar,” reutilizando su comedor como un centro local de recolección y distribución de donaciones de alimentos / suministros, convirtiendo su despensa de alimentos en un programa de recolección y entrega de alimentos de emergencia, recolectando y distribuyendo suministros de higiene y aumentando el enfoque de su programación de agricultura urbana en la producción de alimentos.

The Kindness Campaign $10,000
La pandemia de COVID-19 ha aumentado el número de refugios, ciudades de tiendas de campaña (asentamientos sin hogar) y familias con inseguridad alimentaria que la Kindness Campaign sirve con comidas nutritivas. Están ampliando la iniciativa Kindness Kupboard para incluir artículos de higiene, artículos de limpieza, ropa y llamadas de bienestar.

Ladies of Virtue, NFP $7,000
Ladies of Virtue se está asociando con organizaciones para brindar alimentos y apoyo al sistema alimentario a las familias y para proporcionar alimentos de emergencia cuando sea necesario. Están usando una parcela en el jardín comunitario Park 540 para enseñar a los jóvenes y sus padres cómo cultivar sus propios alimentos.

Little Village Environmental Justice Organization $16,000
Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) está apoyando el proyecto Farm Food.Familias con Getting Grown Collective para proporcionar alimentos de emergencia a 400 familias cada semana en La Villita, Back of the Yards, Bronzeville, Englewood, South Shore y South. Barrios de Chicago.

Maple Morgan Park Community Food Pantry Incorporated $20,000
Debido a COVID-19, el número de hogares que atiende Maple Morgan Park Community Food Pantry se ha triplicado. Han hecho la transición a un nuevo modelo de autoservicio y acceso sin cita previa para la distribución de asistencia alimentaria de emergencia sin contacto en la acera.

Midwest Food Bank NFP $20,000
Midwest Food Bank recolecta alimentos y los distribuye a despensas de alimentos sin fines de lucro sin cargo. En Illinois, prestan servicios a más de 700 agencias de ubicaciones en Normal, Morton y Peoria, de las cuales 19 están en los condados de Will y Cook. Debido a COVID-19, están sirviendo entre un 20 y un 50% más de alimentos que antes de la pandemia.

Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, Inc $20,000
Neighborhood Housing Services de Chicago está proporcionando un paquete de 10 comidas recién preparadas a 24 hogares de personas mayores por semana y un paquete de productos frescos a 63 hogares de la población general por semana. Estas comidas preparadas saludables y nutritivas se suministran a través de Factor75. También están encargados del mercado de agricultores de West Humboldt Park.

NeighborSpace $75,000
NeighborSpace está aprovechando la capacidad actual de su jardín comunitario y la red de granjas del vecindario para 1) cultivar y distribuir alimentos; 2) servir como espacio seguro y accesible para actividades al aire libre; y 3) fomentar la cohesión y la resiliencia de la comunidad.

New Life Baptist Church of Bloom Township $10,000
New Life Baptist Church of Bloom Township está proporcionando alimentos y PPE a hogares y miembros sin hogar de su comunidad.

North Lawndale Greening Committee $5,000
El North Lawndale Greening Committee está pasando de ser una organización totalmente voluntaria a contratar personal para coordinar los jardines existentes, la respuesta a la pandemia, los voluntarios y los recursos adicionales para abordar la pandemia.

Un Nuevo Despertar – A New Awakening $20,000
A New Awakening sirve a la comunidad mayoritariamente latina de La Villita de Chicago. En respuesta al COVID-19, están distribuyendo alimentos y mascarillas a las familias de desempleados, madres solteras, ancianos y enfermos. En coordinación con otras organizaciones comunitarias, iniciaron un mercado de agricultores en La Villita y también ofrecen clases, talleres y asesoramiento gratuitos para abordar la salud mental.

PS Its Social $20,000
PS Its Social, un programa de capacitación en concepto de café abierto para hombres y mujeres jóvenes en alto riesgo, cerró sus cafés en marzo debido al COVID-19 y pasó a enseñar a sus estudiantes proporcionando comidas individuales para los clientes en refugios en Evanston y cajas de comida para apoyar el cierre de muchas despensas en el condado de Lake, principalmente Highwood.

Puerto Rican Cultural Center $25,000
El Puerto Rican Cultural Center está ampliando su programa de alimentos mediante la compra de una camioneta para llevar alimentos frescos y culturalmente apropiados a las familias que no pueden acceder a otras formas de apoyo relacionado con los alimentos, mientras cumplen con los requisitos de distanciamiento social.

Reach Ministries $5,000
Reach Ministries ofrece entregas de alimentos a domicilio, centrándose en las personas mayores.

Restaurant Opportunities Centers United $30,000
Restaurant Opportunities Center of Chicago es la sección local de la red nacional ROC United. En respuesta al COVID-19, están revisando su programa de desarrollo de la fuerza laboral, que prepara a los trabajadores de restaurantes con salarios bajos, la mayoría de los cuales son personas de color, para puestos mejor pagados. También abogan por la Declaración de Derechos Esenciales de los Trabajadores, que exige que los restaurantes ofrezcan ausencia por enfermedad pagada, pago por peligrosidad, equipo de protección personal y un salario digno.

The Roberti Community House $25,000
Roberti Community House está adquiriendo, preparando y distribuyendo alimentos de emergencia para las personas que padecen inseguridad alimentaria en el condado de Lake, con énfasis en las comunidades de Waukegan y North Chicago, que tienen la mayor pobreza y COVID-19 en el condado.

SkyART NFP $5,000
SkyART está cambiando su programa Family Table para entregar alimentos frescos, productos y recetas a los jóvenes participantes de los programas de estudio y sus familias, mientras les ofrece tutoriales de cocina dirigidos por chefs locales para que participen en casa en los próximos tres a seis meses.

St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church $10,000
En respuesta al COVID-19, St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church está proporcionando comida y ropa a su comunidad.

Victory House of Prayer $10,000
Victory House of Prayer está entregando alimentos, EPP y acceso a información y recursos que salvan vidas en vecindarios desatendidos.

Warehouse Workers Justice Center, Inc. $90,000
Warehouse Workers Justice Center, Inc. proporciona información sobre organización, derechos legales y EPP a los trabajadores esenciales del almacén en el condado de Will, incluidos los almacenes de distribución de alimentos vitales en el área. Están combinando EPP y distribución de alimentos con talleres en línea en curso sobre los derechos de los trabajadores.

YWCA Metropolitan Chicago $20,000
YWCA Metropolitan Chicago ofrece un mínimo de 3,000 comidas por semana en tres ubicaciones de la YWCA: Addison, Illinois; la oficina de South Loop StreetWise para una población sin hogar; y Woodlawn. También se están asociando con la Universidad de Chicago, Blue Cross Blue Shield, World Central Kitchen y pequeñas empresas de catering locales para distribuir entre 600-1,500 comidas frescas por semana.

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