December 1, 2025
2025-12-01T00:01:00-05:00
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has announced $1.5 million in rapid-response funding to address heightened food insecurity across Chicago after the lapse of federal SNAP benefits earlier this month.
Grants include $500,000 to Greater Chicago Food Depository in support of efforts to bolster its citywide hunger-relief network; as well as grants of $100,000 each to 10 additional community-based organizations, including Dion’s Chicago Dream, Just Roots, and Nourishing Hope. The foundation also awarded a $250,000 gift to Metropolitan Family Services, the institutional home of United for Chicago, a coalition of civic, business, faith, nonprofit, and philanthropic leaders calling for unity and an end to the militarization of Chicago’s neighborhoods.
“The SNAP lapse didn’t just create a gap in benefits—it exposed the gap between intention and impact in how we support families,” said Dion’s Chicago Dream chief dreamer and CEO Dion Dawson. “MacArthur’s investment helps organizations like ours respond with precision, dignity, and consistency at a moment when Chicagoans cannot afford uncertainty. We’ve learned that food security isn’t about charity—it’s about reliability. This support strengthens a network of leaders who refuse to let policy failures become personal crises, and it moves us closer to a city where stability isn’t the exception, but the standard.”
(Photo credit: Getty Images/SolStock)
