Convened in 2021 by Galesburg Community Foundation, the Hunger Collaborative is comprised of individuals and leaders from more than 30 local nonprofits both directly and indirectly involved in food assistance.

The Community Foundation brought these organizations together after observing how they began collaborating in new ways in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We saw an opportunity to keep that collaboration moving forward and to direct resources in a different way.

The focus of the Hunger Collaborative isn’t getting food on the table—though that is a critical piece of the puzzle. Together, they are working to develop strategies to reduce hunger by addressing its root causes. Those strategies will become realities thanks to more than $1.4 million entrusted to the Community Foundation by the Knox County Board, along with $750,000 invested by the Community Foundation itself and more than $100,000 generously contributed by local residents. Make a gift to the Hunger Collaborative.

In addition to direct, immediate need for food, the Hunger Collaborative has identified four priority root causes of hunger: access to and awareness of services, workforce and skills readiness, housing and homelessness, and transportation. For each area, small groups are crafting strategies for multi-year grants.