URBANA, Ill. — When Steve Ericson walked into the Illinois State Fair as a young exhibitor in 1974, he couldn’t have imagined that one day he’d return, not to show livestock, but to help connect Illinois-grown food to families in need. Now, as Executive Director of Feeding Illinois, Ericson turns his lifelong connection to agriculture into a mission to fight hunger across the state.
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Ericson’s career didn’t begin in hunger relief. After earning his associate degree at Black Hawk College (East Campus), where he competed on the livestock judging team, he transferred to the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Science (ACES) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to study agricultural industries.
To get himself through school, he worked at Sears, steadily moving into management. The job offered stability and benefits, but not fulfillment.
“There was a career path there, and good benefits,” he said. “But when Sears started to decline, I knew it was time for something new.”
Graduate school at the University of Missouri opened that new door. During the Great Flood of 1994, while he was studying at Missouri, Ericson began volunteering at the local food bank to help with flood relief efforts.
“I didn’t even know what a food bank was at the time,” he said. “I called the food bank to see how I could help, met the executive director, and just hit it off.” That connection turned into an internship, then a full-time role.
“I thought I’d do it for a couple of years,” Ericson said. “Thirty-some years later, this has become my career.”
Read the full article from College of ACES.
University of Illinois Extension develops educational programs, extends knowledge, and builds partnerships to support people, communities, and their environments as part of the state's land-grant institution. Extension serves as the leading public outreach effort for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences in all 102 Illinois counties through a network of 27 multi-county units and over 500 staff statewide. Extension’s mission is responsive to eight strategic priorities — community, economy, environment, food and agriculture, health, partnerships, technology and discovery, and workforce excellence — that are served through five program areas — 4-H youth development, agriculture and agribusiness, community and economic development, health and community wellness, and natural resources, environment, and energy.