WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Ill. (KFVS) – Imagine not having enough food to feed your family. That’s a reality for people in every community across the United States, including here in the Heartland.

A summit held on Tuesday at John A. Logan College is aimed at putting an end to food shortages in the region.

Figures from Feeding America show that about 13,000 children in southern Illinois are food insecure.

Jennifer Paulson is working to change that by delivering food and teaching sustainable farming practices through the nonprofit Food Works.

“It can be a lot of things: farmer workshops, farmers markets, food centers and then the Snap and Link program at farmers markets across southern Illinois,” Paulson said.

She told us that the fourth annual Southern Illinois Food Security Summit is helping to bring organizations and nonprofits together to network and ensure critical needs are met as we continue to fight hunger.

“It’s really necessary for all groups to work together and look at this from different perspectives,” she said.

Food Works recently opened a new mobile farmers market to help families in southern Illinois communities that don’t have easy access to a grocery store.

“It’s basically a farmers market on wheels. There are all the food groups you expect to see at a farmers market – fresh produce, local meats, dairy, baked goods, all those things,” Paulson said. “And with this vehicle, we can bring the market to the communities that need it.”

Elizabeth Deruntz, deputy director of Food Works, said this is a great opportunity to develop new ideas to combat hunger in the heartland.

“It’s wonderful to meet people who have the same mindset when it comes to sourcing food and getting food to more people in our region. It’s a regional fight and we need to find new and interesting ways to work together,” she said.

For more information on how you can help fight hunger in Southern Illinois, visit https://www.feedsi.org/.

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