Northern Illinois Food Bank honored for OrderAhead platform – Shaw Local

According to a press release from the Northern Illinois Food Bank, the bank was recently recognized for its “impactful work in the fight against hunger.”

Feeding America, the largest national hunger relief organization in the United States, honored the food bank with its 2024 Network Celebrations Award for integrating food distribution sites into the OrderAhead platform, the press release said.

OrderAhead is an online ordering tool from Feeding America that helps agencies distribute food, according to the Northern Illinois Food Bank’s website. People in need of food can choose from available options and then schedule a pickup time at participating agencies, the OrderAhead website states.

The more we can normalize the experience and make it feel like ordering from a supermarket, the more willing people will be to accept help.”

— Jennifer Lamplough, senior strategy director at the Northern Illinois Food Bank

Participating establishments in Will County include the St. John Lutheran Church Food Pantry, 2650 Plainfield Road, Joliet, and the HEAL Riverwalk Food Pantry, 350 N. Broadway St., Joliet, according to the press release.

“This initiative allows neighbors to privately select groceries and choose convenient pickup times and locations right from their phones or computers,” the press release said. “Notably, 39% of neighbors who now order from the pantries had not previously used their services.”

According to the press release, Feeding America consists of more than 60,000 agency partners, 200 food banks and 21 national food bank associations. Agency partners include food distribution sites and meal programs.

The Network Celebrations Award honors “members of food banks and partner companies within the Feeding America network,” the press release states.

The Northern Illinois Food Bank also offers My Pantry Express. People in need of groceries can order online and then schedule pickup or home delivery (where available), the food bank’s website says.

Jennifer Lamplough, strategy director for the Northern Illinois Food Bank, said at a Foodshare Institute for Hunger Research & Solutions webinar that giving people choices reduces food waste and preserves human dignity.

According to Lamplough, the most common reasons for food waste include allergies, cultural identities, overconsumption of a particular food or aversion to certain foods.

“The more we can normalize the experience and the more it feels like ordering from the supermarket, the more willing people will be to accept help,” Lamplough said.

Last year, the Northern Illinois Food Bank served more than 90 million meals to neighbors in 13 counties in suburban and rural Northern Illinois through its network of more than 900 food distribution sites, soup kitchens and meal programs, the press release said.

For more information, visit solvehungertoday.org.