Currently, 16.6% of Cook County’s population is facing food insecurity, meaning 860,670 people are unsure of when they will have their next meal. 24.5% of the area's hungry are children. In some communities, the food insecurity rate is as high as 1 in 3 individuals.

To do our part, Wellspring held a food drive for the Greater Chicago Food Depository.  We were part of their 1 City, 1 Food Drive that is their largest annual food drive initiative with a citywide goal to collect 1.5 million meals.

For every four pounds of food donated, the Food Depository is able to serve 3 meals.  Wellspring set a goal to donate 500 pounds of food, which is equivalent to 375 meals. To generate excitement and promote participation, we divided into teams and hosted a food drive competition.  The team with the most food by weight at the end of the two-week competition would win a prize.  However, we added a twist to the competition where a $1 donation to the Food Depository allowed a team to reduce another team’s total weight by one pound. The result was a donation of almost two TONS of food and over $600. Unbelievably that’s about the same weight as a car. Also the cash donation is noteworthy since the Food Depository is able to serve three meals for every dollar donated. This donation of food and money results in helping serve over 4,600 meals.

Local food banks continue to need your support. Note there is a year-end match program from other donors with Feeding America happening now. For every dollar donated by December 31, the Feeding America network of food banks secures and distributes 20 meals to people facing hunger.

I am proud of the support by the Wellspring staff and look forward to another great year.

Joe Granda, EVP Marketing, Wellspring