Since 2020, the hunger crisis in Illinois has worsened, resulting in the routine exhaustion of federal funding by Illinois food banks before the end of each year. The budgetary deficits are usually unmet by private donations and federal grants. Illinois food banks are forced to ration their food supplies to pantries, reducing available food to the hungry in our state. 

As one of the top growers of commercial corn and soybeans, Illinois farmers are among the most productive agricultural growers in the world. Most of our farmland (75% of our state’s total land area) is healthy, producing plentiful commodity yields generating over $20 billion a year.  However, rising input costs limit profit margins for typical Illinois farmers, and it becomes difficult for farmers to donate any of their yield to the hungry. Illinois should improve our food donation system by incentivizing our farmers to donate a small portion of their crops to the hungry.  We can use economics, common sense and public policy to tackle this crisis.