Eastern Illinois Foodbank Partnerships Grant

Eastern Illinois Foodbank seeks to enhance its network of partner agencies dedicated to alleviating hunger. Organizations must be located within a specified 18-county area and possess 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, or align with a qualifying umbrella organization. Partners are expected to maintain secure food storage, establish a budget for operational costs, and utilize the Link2Feed electronic system for record-keeping. This initiative ensures effective resource distribution and supports community members in need.

Become a Member Agency of Eastern Illinois Foodbank
Eastern Illinois Foodbank is intentional about expanding our network. In order to best serve the agencies that we work with, we need to make sure that we have adequate food, resources and staff capacity to provide a high level of service to our partners and the community.
Before investing your organization’s resources in starting up a program, please investigate local food resources. Click the “Find Help” button on the top left of the screen, find your county on the map or scroll down to the list of counties and click yours. This will provide you a listing of all emergency food programs affiliated with EIF in your area. Learning about your neighborhood and what services are available will help you decide when and how you want to become part of the hunger solution.

Eligibility

Agency LocationYour agency must be located in our 21 county service area: Champaign, Clark, Clay, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Dewitt, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Iroquois, Jasper, Livingston, Mason, McLean, Moultrie, Peoria, Piatt, Tazewell, Vermilion, or Woodford County.501(c)(3)To be a partner of EIF, your organization must be designated a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization by the IRS or be affiliated with a 501(c)(3) umbrella organization.Limited exceptions may be made if your organization meets the criteria used by the IRS in defining a church. Please visit the IRS website for more information about the requirements of 501(c)(3) status.If your organization does not have 501(c)(3) status and is not interested in pursuing it at this time, you might consider partnering with another organization to help them expand or strengthen their emergency food program.Storage & EquipmentEIF requires its partner agencies to be able to store food safely and securely in an established location. The space should have adequate shelving or other storage to store food off of the ground. Adequate freezer and cooler storage is required to access frozen and refrigerated product.BudgetYou will need a budget to pay for your program expenses. Your budget may come from donations, grants, or other sources, but you will need a regular source of money. In addition to the costs connected with getting food from EIF (many items do have a cost associated with them), you can count on at least some of the following expenses: staffing, transportation, pest control, internet service, cleaning supplies and storage containers.Record KeepingYour agency must utilize an electronic intake system called “Link2Feed” provided to you by EIF. You must provide your own wireless internet connection. Record keeping is important for IRS accounting rules and donor accountability practices. Additionally it helps in hunger advocacy efforts to understand how much food is distributed to people in need in any given area or time period.