• Editor’s Note: This is Part 2 of a series on hunger in Kane County, following a presentation by the Northern Illinois Food Bank to the Kane County Committee of the Whole.

Nearly 600,000 people each year in the Northern Illinois Food Bank‘s 13-county service area rely on NIFB in Geneva and its network of 800 partner food pantries and feeding programs.

While in FY14 Northern Illinois Food Bank provided the equivalent of 50 million meals to our hungry neighbors, NIFB officials say it’s not nearly enough. According to Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap study, each year the area’s hungry neighbors are at risk of skipping 70 million meals, simply because they don’t have enough food for three meals per day.

Northern Illinois Food Bank is committed to filling this “meal gap” and recently presented to the Kane County Board Committee of the Whole a strategic plan with a hashtag #75MMealGoal: a goal of bringing the number of meals distributed by Northern Illinois Food Bank and its network to 75 million annually by the year 2020, and thus providing every meal, every day, for every hungry neighbor.

“We cannot do this alone,” NIFB says on its website. “To meet this ambitious goal, we need your support. Please join us by donating, volunteering and spreading the word about hunger in our community. If you work for a food company, are a farmer or are a member of the agribusiness community, please consider donating food and produce. Consider starting a food and fund drive, or hosting a meeting at our West Suburban Center in Geneva.

“With your help, we can ensure that no one goes hungry in northern Illinois.”

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• Series Part 1: Hunger Study 2014: 9.7% Kane County Residents At Risk