Kraft donates $15,000 to Northern Illinois Food Bank

Staff Report

LOVES PARK, Ill. — The Kraft Foods Foundation recently awarded $15,000 to Northern Illinois Food Bank (NIFB) to help fight hunger in the Rockford area.

Kraft Foods Loves Park Plant Manager Linda Akiyama presented the donation to Hester Bury, NIFB senior development officer, at the food bank’s Northwest Center in Loves Park April 30.

The grant will provide the equivalent of 90,000 meals for hungry neighbors in Winnebago, Boone, Ogle and Stephenson counties.

Akiyama said: “The work of the Northern Illinois Food Bank in Loves Park is critical to helping fight hunger in the Rockford area. We know they can’t tackle the problem alone, and we’re pleased to partner with them on this important work. Kraft Foods and its Foundation have a long history of supporting hunger relief, and we want to do that in the communities where our employees live and work.”

Pete Schaefer, president and CEO of the NIFB, said: “Unfortunately, the need for food assistance in our community is great. Families across the greater Rockford area are facing tough decisions, such as choosing between paying bills or buying food. The support from the Kraft Foods Foundation on behalf of the Kraft-Loves Park plant will make a big difference in helping our neighbors in need.”

The grant is just one way Kraft Foods supports NIFB. Employees from Kraft-Loves Park have also volunteered time packing food at the Food Bank during the company’s worldwide Delicious Difference Week in 2011 and 2010.

The Kraft Foods Foundation is making a total of $300,000 in similar grants across the country through Feeding America, the nation’s leading hunger relief organization. NIFB is a member of Feeding America’s nationwide network of more than 200 food banks.

The grants are designed to help fight hunger by allowing food banks to build access and capacity at the grass-roots level. The funding helps break down barriers and bring more food to our neighbors in need through programs that improve transportation and refrigeration, or provide fresh produce and protein to hard-to-reach service areas, to name a few.

Fighting hunger is not new for Kraft Foods. As the nation’s largest food company, it has partnered with Feeding America for decades to do just that.

NIFB is a non-profit organization that provides food to hungry neighbors in 13 Illinois counties through its more than 600 network partners. The Food Bank 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 and senior centers, and other food assistance sites. In Fiscal Year 2011, NIFB distributed more than 34.8 million pounds of food, the equivalent of 29 million meals. Learn how you can donate, volunteer and get involved at www.SolveHungerToday.org.

The Northwest Center of NIFB, 6315 N. Second St., Loves Park, can be reached at (815) 639-1286.

From the May 2-8, 2012, issue

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