Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth
[JOLIET, IL] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today visited the Northern Illinois Food Bank distribution center in Joliet and met with President & CEO Julie Yurko to discuss the organization’s efforts to address food insecurity in the surrounding community and how federal resources can help ensure they can continue that work. Duckworth also recognized the Food Bank’s volunteers and spoke about her recent legislation to help reduce military hunger. Photos of today’s meeting are available here.
“Volunteers and organizations like Northern Illinois Food Bank Distribution Center make such a difference in the push against hunger,” Duckworth said. “I am grateful to them and the work they do, and as someone whose family relied on public nutrition programs after my father lost his job, I recognize that food insecurity is a systemic issue. I’ll keep working to reduce the number of Americans who have to worry about where their family’s next meal is coming from.”
Duckworth has long been active in addressing food insecurity, including for our nation’s military families. Right now, far too many military families experience hunger because of unintended barriers that make them unable to access essential nutrition assistance programs. That’s one of the reasons why Duckworth worked to include a modified version of her bipartisan Military Hunger Prevention Act in the Fiscal Year 2022 NDAA that’s now law to ensure DoD creates a basic needs allowance for servicemembers below 130 percent of the federal poverty guidelines to assist them with affording basic necessities, particularly food.
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