Man and 4-H member stand with cases of food

Our 4-H Impact

Issue

More than 1.9 million Illinois residents do not have regular access to nutritious food. One in five residents experience hunger weekly. More than 270,000 Illinoisans live in food deserts. These numbers are expected to worsen due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Access to healthy food has a major impact on overall health of individuals and families.

Action

4-H youth leaders are advocate for food secure communities through research, service-learning and direct action.

Impact

Illinois youth use innovative ways to solve real-world problems faced by Illinois families. Illinois 4-H members provide food from community gardens, mini-food pantries and weekend backpack programs with skills they learned in 4-H.

"Little acts of kindness can make a big difference in a kid's life. We wanted to let other students know that there are other kids looking out for them."

-4-H Youth Grant Recipient

2 women picking green peppers in garden
4-h teens with bags of food to distribute

736 youth have been reached in the past year through 4-H service-learning projects