Approximately 500,000 individuals in the Chicago area use food pantries and soup kitchens annually; 34% of those served are children under the age of 18, and 10% are elderly.  It is also estimated that approximately 30% of individuals eligible for Food Stamps do not use them.

The Trust will support projects that:

• Maximize utilization of federal, state, and local programs created to alleviate hunger, such as food stamps and summer food
• Improve the effectiveness of the food distribution system at the central and community levels to reach the maximum number of people who need supplemental food
• Improve the private sector’s involvement in alleviating hunger
• Increase the supply of nutritious and healthy food products to low-income families

Over the course of each year, thousands of individuals use homeless shelters or reside in public spaces in metropolitan Chicago.  Many more households are at-risk of being homeless due to the high cost of housing in the region or due to discharge from public institutions — such as mental health facilities, the foster care system, and state prisons.  In recent years, federal, state, and local governments and community agencies have developed plans to end homelessness through increased prevention efforts and permanent housing solutions.

The Trust will support projects that:

• Develop or implement plans to end homelessness
• Increase resources for preventing homelessness and for ensuring effectiveness of prevention strategies
• Improve the cost-effectiveness and outcomes of the service delivery system
• Support data collection and analysis to help improve service outcomes
• Demonstrate or pilot programs that document successful practices in ending homelessness

Federal, state, and local policies implemented over the last decade have dramatically altered programs serving the needs of low-income families and individuals.

The Trust will support projects that:

• Identify and advance public policies that will improve the conditions of low-income families and individuals
• Monitor and report on the results of these public policy changes that affect the safety net
• Provide constructive solutions to problem areas created as the result of some public policy changes

Human service agencies face demographic changes, increased demands for improved service outcomes, in addition to shifts in public policies and decline in public and private revenues. In order for these agencies to remain viable organizations, they need to make critical changes and grow while increasing their effectiveness in meeting the needs of vulnerable families and individuals.

The Trust will support projects that:

• Pilot projects to test innovative service strategies
• Improve the capacity of an agency, or system, to deliver effective services. Capacity improvement projects may consist of merger/consolidation or building alliances between organizations, agency reorganization or leadership transition, or research to improve service outcomes for a particular client population
• Provide capital grants to support agencies that may need to relocate, expand or make renovations to meet the needs of clients. No more than three capital grants will be made annually
• Produce financial efficiencies or raise significant new sources of funding