Eastern Illinois Foodbank participates in an annual national hunger study in conjunction with Feeding America. The most recent study, Map the Meal Gap, documents the extent of hunger in our region, in the state and in the nation and helps guide policy discussions and affect change.
Key Findings For Our Communities:
- There are more than 143,000 food insecure individuals living in Eastern Illinois Foodbank's service area.
- Overall food insecurity rates for eastern Illinois vary from 9.9% in Piatt County to 16.5% in Coles County. Iroquois County has experienced the biggest increase for a second year in a row, now reaching 14.5%.
- 13.3% of people living in Eastern Illinois Foodbank's service area face food insecurity, which is higher than the percentage of food-insecure individuals in Illinois as a whole.
- The national food budget shortfall, which reflects the extra money that people who are food insecure report needing to cover their food needs, is $32 billion. This translates to $22.37 a week per person, on average. Residents of Woodford County feel this firsthand, with an estimated food budget shortfall of $26.16.
- The county with the highest amount of children facing food insecurity is Vermilion County, where 1 in 4 children are food insecure. This is approximately 4,100 children, accounting for 24% of children in Vermilion.
- Individuals who were food secure in 2023 reported spending an average of $3.58 per meal. Meal costs vary significantly by county throughout the nation, ranging from $2.60 to $6.09, showcasing the diverse economic challenges faced by communities. In McLean County, the average cost per meal is $3.66, and in Woodford County, the average cost per meal is $4.19, which reflects the growing need we see at Eastern Illinois Foodbank.
Feeding America has published the Map the Meal Gap project since 2011, thanks to the support of The Howard G. Buffett Foundation, Nielsen, and the Conagra Brands Foundation, to learn more about the face of hunger at the local level.
