Northern Illinois Food Bank’s mission is to provide nutritious food and resources for our neighbors, with dignity, equity and convenience through partnerships and innovation with a vision of everyone in Northern Illinois having the food they need to thrive. Since 1983, we have been committed to advocating for and with our neighbors by telling their stories and engaging a diverse community of supporters, who unite in giving their time, donating food and contributing funds to improve access to nutritious meals and increase food security throughout our 13-county service area. Through the collaboration among more than 900 food pantries and programs, dedicated staff, volunteers, and food and fund donors, we provide nutritious food to an average of 375,000 neighbors every month and have distributed 78 million meals in FY22. We continue to engage in this immense and crucial work with compassion, boldness and purpose, along with the understanding that we are all neighbors and when we are each involved, whether we are seeking assistance or offering help, together we will solve hunger.
Randi Chambers is a former Middle School Teacher with a Bachelor’s Degree in Biological Sciences from Northern Illinois University. Randi’s passion for working in the nonprofit world began in 2019 with her full-time volunteer service as an AmeriCorps VISTA with Northern Illinois Food Bank’s Agency Team. There, she helped to assess and assist with capacity building needs for some of the food pantries in the Food Bank’s Southern Region. She served a second VISTA year, joining the Food Bank's Philanthropy Team in April 2020, where she helped to secure funding, met with donors, and presented to groups who were interested in learning more about the Food Bank and how they can engage in the mission. This experience provided a solid foundation for the work that she has been doing since officially joining the Food Bank Team in January 2022 as a Development Officer of Corporate and Foundation Giving, with a focus on grant writing and donor relations.
Host: Peter Elmer
