About this event
Food and Water Issues is an afternoon seminar on how drought, rising prices and broken supply chains are changing what families can put on the table. Speakers from our nutrition and water programs join local food bank partners to share data from the field and the practical responses that are working right now.
Schedule
1:00 PM
Doors open & registration
1:30 PM
Keynote: water, food and the cost of living
2:15 PM
Panel with food bank and farm partners
3:15 PM
Break & community stalls
3:45 PM
Open Q&A and closing remarks
From the field
In 2025 our school meal partners in three regions reported that one in five children arrived at school without breakfast at least twice a week. Where we paired meals with a clean water point, attendance rose by 9% within a single term.
The seminar walks through those numbers honestly — including the sites where results were slower than we hoped, and what we changed.
How you can help
Every ticket funds two weeks of school meals. Attendees can also sign up on the day to volunteer at one of our Chicago partner pantries.
'Hunger is rarely about a lack of food. It is about who can reach it, and when.'
Getting there
City Library Auditorium, 400 S State St, Chicago, IL 60605. CTA Red Line to Jackson. The auditorium is on the lower level, with lift access from the main lobby.
