Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs today announced a new grant program to help volunteer groups battling hunger and food insecurity in the wake of federal government cuts to critical food programs.
Charitable Trust Hunger Relief Grants provide up to $5,000 to volunteer-driven food pantries, soup kitchens, and similar nonprofit organizations with no full-time employees.
Frerichs launched the grant program after the Trump administration cut funding for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) and a program that allowed Illinois farmers to sell their fresh food to Meals on Wheels and food pantries. The cuts, coupled with higher prices due to inflation, have meant more people in Illinois relying on food pantries to feed their families.
“Hunger and food insecurity is a hidden epidemic afflicting children who cannot ask for help and adults who find it difficult to ask for help as they juggle two or more jobs,” Frerichs said. “Small, local food pantries and soup kitchens are prepared to help these innocent lives because they see those suffering in the shadows. That is why we created this desperately needed hunger relief program, as these organizations try to help people get food as affordability remains a major concern.”
According to Feeding America, 1 in 8 people in Illinois face hunger, 1 in 6 children in Illinois face hunger, and 38 percent of Illinois households receiving SNAP benefits have children.
The Charitable Trust Hunger Relief Grant program is open to smaller, volunteer-driven organizations that did not previously qualify for the Illinois Treasurer’s Charitable Trust program due to a lack of a full-time employee. Those organizations can apply for a Hunger Relief Grant through July 31. Learn more and apply online here.
Since 2017, the Illinois Treasurer’s Office has helped nonprofits with annual budgets of $1 million or less and the equivalent of one full-time employee through its Charitable Trust Program. The maximum award for the Charitable Trust Program is $20,000 for each awardee. The current grant cycle focuses on food and housing assistance from July 1 – September 30. The next grant cycle focuses on food, and economic and workforce development from January 1 – March 31, 2027.
An independent 11-member committee oversees management and guidelines for each fund and selects grant recipients. Previous grant recipients are eligible to apply if the term of their grant has been completed for at least two calendar years.
Grant money comes from filing fees that non-profits pay when incorporating in the state of Illinois – not from personal or property tax dollars.
Since the Charitable Trust Program was established in 2017, $5.2 million has been awarded to 209 non-profit organizations.
