How To Help

Action Matters Most! There are several ways to help Northern Illinois Food Bank

Volunteer

$1 = $8 of Groceries

For every $1 donated, Northern Illinois Food Bank provides $8 worth of groceries. Every donation makes a real difference in the lives of our neighbors. Northern Illinois Food Bank is grateful for the generosity of our donors and is committed to being a good steward of your support. Thanks to your food bank money donations, 97 percent […]
Volunteer

Volunteer Your Time

We simply could not do what we do without the help of volunteers! Whether you can volunteer once a week, once a month or once a year; individually or with a group of friends, family or colleagues, whatever your commitment, every hour of assistance helps us ensure all our neighbors will have access to food […]

“This wasn’t where I wanted to be. It’s actually kind of funny because I was just like, `Oh, I got to go there and volunteer.’ But I fell in love here. I fell in love with all the volunteers that were coming and helping other people out.”

Tim, Supervisor

Give Food

Online Fundraisers & Food Drives

Help feed hungry neighbors by hosting an online fundraiser or food drive today! Whether you are directly collecting food or hosting an online fundraiser, all of the contributions from businesses, schools, community organizations and individuals generate thousands of meals for hungry neighbors each year.

Agricultural & Food Industry Donations

Each year our neighbors are at risk of skipping 70 million meals, simply because they don’t have enough food to eat. Every donation helps us get closer to meeting our vision of providing enough food for every meal, every day, for every neighbor in order to thrive.

Corporate Partnerships

Northern Illinois Food Bank is leading our community in solving hunger. We provide nutritious food and resources for our neighbors, with dignity, equity and convenience, through partnerships and innovation. We invite you, as neighbors, to be a part of the solution with your time and resources. Corporate support is not only vital to our mission, it’s also vital to employee engagement and brand connectedness. Northern Illinois Food Bank is fortunate to have some of the country’s most prominent corporate brands as mission partners.

Advocate for your Neighbors

In order to solve hunger in our service area, Northern Illinois Food Bank works with national, state and local partners to advocate for administrative and legislative policies that strengthen our communities and decrease instances of food insecurity.

The number one way to join us in our advocacy efforts is by signing up for our Advocacy Alerts. These alerts will keep you up-to-date on our advocacy work, notify you when there are action steps you can take, and ultimately put us one step closer to solving hunger in our community.

Fundraising Events

Whether a group or individual fundraiser or food drive, your donations and efforts make a difference!

No gift is too small, and no age is too young to help!

For her ninth birthday, Emma N. of Hanover Park asked family members to give food items for the Food Bank instead of presents for herself.

 

Emma shared, “I feel good when I give to the community because I know I am taken care of and I want others to feel that way too.”

Signature Events

We believe every neighbor in Northern Illinois needs a little help and has a little help to give. We invite you to help our neighbors in Northern Illinois who are facing food insecurity thrive by supporting our special events by joining a planning committee, volunteering, attending or sponsoring.

Event volunteers assist in planning, solicit sponsorship or auction items and provide event day support. Sponsoring events will gain your business more exposure to a targeted audience, help create a positive public image, and provide another opportunity to engage employees and customers.

 

Shop Branded Merchandise

Another great way to help our neighbors thrive is to purchase branded items! A percentage of each purchase and order generates a donation to Northern Illinois Food Bank.

We offer a variety of items from apparel to coffee mugs, custom tote bags and more!

All orders ship directly to you!

Promotions

Northern Illinois Food Bank is fortunate to partner with many local and national companies, organizations and individuals to raise awareness and funds for our neighbors in need. Consider supporting these partnerships or starting your own to help solve hunger.

Donate!

Your financial gift supports food distributions and feeding opportunities across 13 counties within Northern Illinois. Every $1 donated can provide $8 worth of groceries for a neighbor in need.