A neighbor picks up his online OrderAhead food order from the Northern Illinois Food Bank.
Courtesy of Northern Illinois Food Bank
The Northern Illinois Food Bank was recently recognized by Feeding America for its outstanding work with the 2024 Network Celebrations Award. This prestigious award recognizes Feeding America network member banks and partners who embody the spirit of “Many Voices, One Vision” through innovative initiatives and impactful work to fight hunger.
Feeding America is the largest national hunger relief organization in the United States. It is comprised of 200 food banks, 21 national food bank associations, and more than 60,000 partner agencies, including food pantries and meal programs.
Together, these efforts provide vital food assistance to millions of people each year. Only seven Feeding America network members and partners, including the Northern Illinois Food Bank, received the 2024 Network Celebrations Award for their outstanding contributions.
Other recipients included: Arizona Food Bank Network, Facing Hunger Foodbank, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, God’s Pantry Food Bank and Ohio Association of Foodbanks.
The Northern Illinois Food Bank was recognized for its innovative work in expanding online ordering to food-insecure neighbors by integrating food distribution sites into the OrderAhead platform.
By investing in the capacity of food distribution sites across the Food Bank network and engaging them in a peer learning group, the Northern Illinois Food Bank has significantly improved its community’s food assistance experience.
This initiative allows neighbors to select groceries privately and choose convenient pickup times and locations right from their phones or computers. Notably, 39% of neighbors who now order from the pantries had not previously used their services.
The award was accepted by the Northern Illinois Food Bank’s leadership team and board chair during Feeding America’s annual conference, which featured the theme “Many Voices, One Vision.” The conference highlighted the collaborative efforts needed to achieve the vision of “An America Where No One Goes Hungry.”
“We are honored to receive this prestigious award,” said Julie Yurko, President and CEO of the Northern Illinois Food Bank. “The success of the OrderAhead program is a testament to the collaborative and innovative spirit throughout our organization as we work to help our neighbors thrive.”
Last year, the Northern Illinois Food Bank network of more than 900 food distribution sites, soup kitchens and meal programs served more than 90 million meals to residents in 13 counties in the suburbs and rural areas of Northern Illinois.
Northern Illinois Food Bank member agencies offer the OrderAhead online ordering tool:
• St. John Lutheran Church food distribution center, 2650 Plainfield Road, Joliet
• HEAL Riverwalk Food Pantry, 350 N. Broadway St., Joliet
• Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry, 1110 Jericho Road, Aurora
• Neighborhood food pantry – Family in Faith Church Food Pantry, 1480 Bloomingdale Road, Glendale Heights
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