• 48% of the members of households served by NIFB are children under 18 years of age.
• 8% of the members of households are children age 0 to 5 years.
• 6% are elderly (over 65 years old).
• Approximately 52% of clients are white; 27% are African American, and 15% are Hispanic.
• 43% of households include at least one employed adult.
• 66% have incomes below the federal poverty level ($22,050 for a family of four).

More than 70% of clients are food insecure or are experiencing hunger. The U.S. Dept of Agriculture defines food insecure people as those who do not have regular access to enough nutritious food for an active and healthy life. Those households have reduced quality and variety of meals, and may have irregular food intake.

Many of the clients served by NIFB report having to choose between food and other necessities:

• 54% of clients report having to choose between paying for food and paying for utilities or heat.
• 49% had to choose between paying for food and paying their rent or mortgage.
• 44% had to choose between paying for food and paying for medicine or medical care.
  

The causes behind the growth in need for food assistance in northern Lake County are numerous, but these factors are major contributors:

• Unemployment is on the rise. With an unemployment rate of 13.4% (January 2010), Lake County is ranked 39 out of 102 Illinois counties for unemployment, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security. This reflects a significant jump since 2009 when the unemployment rate was 9.1%.
• The number of single-parent households is on the rise and sometimes the income is not sufficient to support children properly.
• The elderly population is increasing due to longevity of life and, in some instances, they’re outliving their savings.
• Population growth has brought with it the working poor that cannot keep pace with expenses of living in suburban areas.
• Poor and middle-income families have seen limited economic gains in the past two decades.
   
   
  Sources: Northern Illinois Food Bank 2009 Annual Report and Feeding America Hunger in America 2010