Grubhub microgrants to help 64 local nonprofits fighting food insecurity

Good Food is Good Medicine started providing free community meals prepared by professional chefs last year to address hunger and health gaps on the South and West sides.

The nonprofit made 750 healthy meals over eight days in November and December and put them in community fridges in North Lawndale, Pilsen, Little Village and Hyde Park, said Jeannine Wise, the nonprofit’s director.

“Many people’s health issues are a feature of our current food system, not an individual failing,” she said.

And thanks to a new grant from Grubhub, Good Food is Good Medicine will be able to supply many more of those meals.

The Garfield Park organization is one of 64 Chicago-area nonprofits recently awarded a microgrant from Grubhub. The grants were given to organizations that address food insecurity and provide meal and food services across Cook, DuPage and Lake counties.

The nonprofits, including food pantries, soup kitchens and urban farms, each received up to $10,000 through Grubhub’s Full Plate Program, the Chicago-based company’s first open grant initiative.

Recipients will use the grants for buying groceries and meals for community members and investing in equipment and resources to distribute food and maintain programming.

The nonprofits come from neighborhoods across the metro area, including Austin, Back of the Yards, Englewood, Garfield Park, North Lawndale, Pilsen and Uptown. Recipients are also from Glen Ellyn, Sauk Village, Waukegan and West Chicago.

“Addressing food insecurity has always been a top priority for us,” said Brianna Morris, Grubhub’s senior manager of community impact.

Food insecurity, which means a person lacks access to a sufficient amount of nutritious food to lead a healthy lifestyle, has been linked to a higher risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease and more, studies show.

Low-food access rose 63% in Chicago over the last decade, a WBEZ and Sun-Times analysis found. Part of the reason why is grocery stores closing throughout the South and West sides, limiting people’s ability to get fresh food at a reasonable cost.

In addition to the community meals, Good Food is Good Medicine offers six-week culinary and nutrition courses aimed at making it easier for participants to access better food by learning how to cook and about proper nutrition.

“We are confronting equity and divestment issues such as redlining, food apartheid and social isolation in our programming. We seek to positively impact people’s health through information about shopping, cooking and eating choices,” Wise said.

They’ve held classes in Garfield Park, North Lawndale, Englewood, South Shore and Little Village. Last year, Wise estimates they helped over 800 people access healthier meals.

Just Roots, which operates urban farms in Bronzeville and south suburban Sauk Village, also received a grant. Half of Just Roots’ crops are given out for free within a 5-mile radius of the farm and the Grubhub funds will bolster those efforts, said Sean Ruane, who oversees operations and development for the organization.

“This will strengthen our ability to grow food for those partners and get it to the folks in most need,” Ruane said.

Their two farms, a half-acre in Bronzeville and 3 acres in Sauk Village, produce between 35 and 45 different fruits, vegetables and herbs. Half of the crops are given to food pantries, mutual aid groups and senior and public housing. The other 50% are sold on a sliding scale.

Between their two farms, Just Roots serves 7,500 people annually. The Bronzeville farm alone serves 4,000.

To qualify for the grant, the organizations had to be a community-based nonprofit in the Chicago area that provides free or reduced food and meals to help address food insecurity.

“A lot of these organizations are seeing an increased demand and they’re needing increased funding for it,” Morris with Grubhub said.

Glen Ellyn Food Pantry also got a grant to support its free dairy program. Demand for dairy has remained high, especially as the cost of such products is too expensive for many families, said Laura Glaza, the executive director of the pantry.

The pantry is lucky to get a steady, donated supply of shelf-stable foods, but it often has to purchase perishable items, like dairy, eggs, meat and produce, Glaza said.

“We do this so that food is one less worry for families and they can save their income for other important things you can’t get for free,” she said.

The funds for the grants are supplied by the Grubhub Community Fund, and the grant program is administered by Grubhub, Greater Chicago Food Depository and Nourishing Hope. The company plans to continue supporting the grant recipients and bolstering other food insecurity efforts in the Chicago area.

View the full list of grant recipients here.