From press release

ST. CHARLES, Ill.—Northern Illinois Food Bank (NIFB) has announce that for the sixth consecutive year they have achieved a four-star rating from Charity Navigator. Only 2 percent of charities nationwide have achieved such a high distinction.

Charity Navigator is America’s largest charity evaluator. The four-star rating is based on the organizations’ ability to efficiently manage its finances and grow its programs.

NIFB recognizes donors are becoming more attentive to how the charities they choose to support use their funds. More than 95 percent of every dollar donated goes toward the NIFB’s mission to provide nutritious food to all those in need through their own efforts and those of their non-profit partners.

NIFB Executive Director Dennis Smith said, “We understand that donors expect transparency and efficiency, and we are happy to deliver both.

“Given the increased scrutiny charities are under, we could not be more pleased with this high merit,” Smith added. “We are in the midst of a capital campaign to address the growing need for hunger relief in the communities we serve, and we realize that donors want to know that we are using their gifts judiciously.”

The new NIFB building will foster better health within the 13 counties served by NIFB by instructing and encouraging better use of food and financial resources.

NIFB has seen a 35 percent surge in demand for food in the last year alone. With the additional space afforded by the new building, NIFB will double, and in some cases triple, their capacity, while also saving money and energy.

“We are invested in not only the communities that we serve, but each one of our clients” Smith said.

NIFB is a non-profit organization that provides food to all those in need through its 520 partner agencies in the following 13 counties: Boone, DuPage, DeKalb, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson, Will and Winnebago. NIFB acquires, gathers, handles and distributes donated, government and purchased food to more than 60,000 different people each week through local food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, youth activity centers and other food assistance sites. In fiscal year 2009, NIFB distributed more than 27 million pounds of food.