An estimated 35% of Chicago households face some form of food insecurity, according to a report released Monday by the Greater Chicago Food Depository.
For the first time, the depository, which supplies food to hundreds of food pantries across Cook County, has partnered with NORC at the University of Chicago to release the Chicago Hunger Report, detailing which communities and households face some degree of food insecurity, defined as disrupted eating patterns or less food.
Chicago residents who took part in the survey this summer were asked a series of questions, including whether household members had skipped or reduced meals in the past 30 days because they didn’t have money to buy food.
A report released Monday shows food insecurity is more widespread than previous reports had indicated. An analysis of the data shows that in 2024, about 13% of Illinois households experienced food insecurity and about 24% were slightly food insecure. University of Kentucky Poverty Research Center.
Kate Maher, chief executive officer of the Greater Chicago Food Depository, said the food insecurity people are experiencing is being driven by soaring food prices due to inflation and families still recovering from economic changes since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The data is very grim and the stakes are very high,” Maher said. “This is a fundamental and moral issue. I believe food is a basic human right, but more than a third of households in our great cities struggle to afford something as basic as food.”
The need for food is increasing as the largest food assistance program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, undergoes changes. SNAP is Expanding work requirements As part of President Donald Trump’s massive tax and spending plan, also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” passed last year, much of the program’s costs will be shifted to states.
Illinois already participates in federally funded food assistance programs. 16% decrease compared to 2025according to the Illinois Department of Human Services. As of June, the number of people receiving SNAP benefits had fallen to nearly 1.6 million, the lowest number of people receiving food assistance in the state since 2009.
Mahr described the changes as “the rug being pulled out from under the feet of vulnerable families and this critical resource being taken away for so many.”
According to the report, food insecurity is particularly pronounced on the South Side, where 51% of residents surveyed said their food security was very low or low.
Black residents report the highest levels of food insecurity of any racial group in the city, at 61%, according to the repository’s report. In contrast, only 14% of white households reported having limited access to food.
Dion Dawson, CEO of Dion’s Chicago Dream, recognizes the needs of the entire city. The organization delivers free 10-pound boxes of fresh vegetables and fruits throughout the city, but primarily to residents in Inglewood, Austin, Garfield Park, and Roseland. More than 5,000 households are currently on the waiting list.
Dawson said food insecurity is coupled with a lack of other resources, with residents suffering cuts to social services and health care while also suffering from high levels of unemployment. That’s why Dawson said authorities also need to look at job creation to address food insecurity.
“We don’t necessarily have a money problem; we have an allocation problem when it comes to some of the resources in philanthropy and social services overall,” Dawson said.
The survey also found that approximately 47% of households with children reported facing food insecurity. Marr said he will urge lawmakers to make policy changes to address food insecurity among children and the risk of losing a generation.
“The data are very clear about what happens to children if they don’t have enough high-quality, nutritious food for the first five to 10 years of life,” she says. “This is not a 2026 problem. It’s a 2036 problem, it’s a 2046 problem, it’s a 2056 problem.”
Marr also said the report’s findings point to a new type of economy in which people are living, one in which workers aren’t earning enough to stock their refrigerators and pantries.
About 56% of food-insecure households included adults in some type of employment, and about 11% of food-insecure households included retirees, according to the report. The repository’s findings also show that people facing food insecurity are delaying or not paying utility and medical bills. About 29% of people who are food insecure have also delayed or missed their rent or mortgage payments.
“They are having to rely on this program, the emergency food program, and other trade-off decisions, including families who in some cases make choices, and parents who choose not to feed themselves in order to feed their children,” Marr said. “These are the choices they make every day to survive in America.”
Dion’s Chicago Dream’s Dawson said the report confirms in many ways what he and others working in the emergency food system see every day.
“It is our responsibility to respond in a way that is respectful to all of our residents who are experiencing food insecurity right now,” Dawson said.
This story has been updated to correct the percentage of households with working adults and retirees who are food insecure.