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Challenges Facing Chicago Neighborhoods
Across Chicago’s 70+ communities, there are estimated to be more than 500,000 people facing hunger and food insecurity. Residents struggle with population loss, a lack of jobs, school closures, a housing crisis, and gang violence — especially in a post-pandemic environment. Food deserts affect every part of the city, with a larger presence in the South and West sides of Chicago.
Interconnected with this, many Chicagoans also suffer from these challenges:
What is Food Insecurity?
The condition where people cannot reliably access adequate, nutritious food.
What is a Food Desert?
An area with a poverty rate of at least 20 percent and where at least a third of the population lives more than a mile from a supermarket or large grocery store.
How Does Food Insecurity Happen?
Chicago residents effected?
19%
Chicago Metro Area
29%
Latinx Communities
37%
Black Communities
What does this mean for the people living in Englewood?
Growing up in Englewood has not been the easiest experience. As a child, you experience so much so fast. From hunger to loneliness to violence, it felt like the problems came often...The opportunity to consume fresh fruits and vegetables is not something that I am used to. I feel sometimes that I don’t deserve it because no one has cared to offer it to us consistently.
