CARTERVILLE, Ill. — Hunger may not always be visible, but its impact is deeply felt across Southern Illinois. According to Feeding America’s “Map the Meal Gap,” more than 45,000 residents, nearly 15% of the local population, struggle with food insecurity. That urgent reality brought together community leaders, health professionals, and advocates at the fifth annual Southern Illinois Food Security Summit, a collaborative event focused on expanding access to healthy food and building resilient support systems. The Southern Illinois Food Security Summit was held on Tuesday, September 1, at John A. Logan College.
The summit featured keynote speaker Trina Ragain of the Illinois State Board of Education, who shared insights into the current landscape of hunger in Illinois and highlighted the power of community-driven action and ways we combat food Security in southern Illinois.
Alizah Haper, Illinois Extension educator, connected the dots among SNAP Connect, Find Food Illinois navigators, and community partners working together to strengthen food access and nutrition assistance across the state.
The summit offered many breakout sessions that focused on the foundation of the aging population, a listening session on SNAP experiences across Illinois, a summary of the whole health program by Arrowleaf, and area schools spoke on how they combat food insecurity in their school.
Angie Bailey from Southern Illinois Healthcare and Lori Longueville from Southern Illinois coalition for children and families provided an update on Find Help Southern Illinois, a vital resource that connects residents with programs and services to meet essential needs, from food and housing to healthcare and employment.
Byram Fager of the Southern Illinois Community Foundation shared the impact of last year’s mini-grants, which funded initiatives across the region. Fager also offered practical tips for submitting grant applications, encouraging more local organizations to take part in this opportunity.
The summit highlights a shared commitment: to ensure that no one in Southern Illinois goes hungry. Through collaboration, communication, and compassion, the region is taking bold steps toward a future where food security is a reality for all.
"The people here recognize that we have an issue with food access and food insecurity in our communities, and I'm hoping that people leave here re-energized and re-invigorated to support food access projects," said Wright.
To learn how to get involved with food security initiatives in the region, contact Toni Kay Wright at tkwright@illinois.edu or (618) 993-3304.
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.