Journal & Topics Media Group

Hunger In Des Plaines? Yes, Just Ask The Kids


Is such a thing possible?

Do some children in Des Plaines go hungry almost every night?

“Yes,” said local residents Jana Haas and Sally Fortier at Monday night’s (June 18) city council meeting.

In Des Plaines Elementary School Dist. 62, as many as 3,000 children from families “across the board” in terms of race and ethnicity, experience the pains of hunger on a regular basis.

How could that happen in a 183-year-old community where hundreds of millions of dollars are currently being spent by private developers to build nearly 1,000 new apartments for millennials and retirees? How could that be in a town where one of the biggest corporations in human history, McDonald’s, began, and where many large companies have and continue to flourish and where most high school graduates go on to college?

Hass and Fortier’s appearance Monday night was an effort to attract attention to the plight of those Des Plaines families affected by a lack of food and to encourage involvement in a program they have been involved in for the last few years.

The “Community Back Pack Project”, explained Haas, is a “grassroots project” where the neediest of the needy children are provided enough food stuffed in backpacks to adequately feed them for a weekend. In Dist. 62, an “astounding” 60% of grade school students “go home hungry,” said Haas, a Des Plaines Park District commissioner. “We don’t like to see our kids hungry. We provide a backpack with six meals inside and the children take it home,” adding that parents must agree to be part of the program. The 60% of Dist. 62 youngsters Haas was referring to are children who qualify for free or reduced priced lunches at the schools they attend. They also can have breakfast at the schools. Often, these are the only two meals the children have for the day, she added.

First Congregational Church of Des Plaines has participated in the program for the last year providing weekend meals for five children. That number may increase to 10 next year. St. Stephen Catholic Church, where Fortier is a member, currently provides weekend meals in backpacks to 14 needy children.

Haas stated that she is often asked, why don’t the needy families visit the Des Plaines Self-Help Closet & Food Pantry to receive food. Her reply is that the pantry only provides food to people who qualify just once a month. That poses a multitude of problems including how to find transportation to visit the pantry. She also explained that parents, who are earning $30,000 to $40,000 a year are faced with making tough choices on whether to pay rent or taxes or to provide enough food for their children.

“There’s not much left over,” Haas remarked. “They have to make a choice. Also, if 60% of Dist. 62 kids go home hungry every day, what about their brothers and sisters who attend Maine West High School?”

Children in need of food are often identified by school district social workers and teachers. “It’s not a secret,” Haas said. “It’s hard to believe we have this issue in Des Plaines, but we do.”

People who are interested in helping better manage the local hunger problem can urge organizations or churches they are involved with to provide weekend meals in backpacks for children. Once the backpacks are filled, a school social worker walks or rides on a bus with the children to their parents’ home. After the weekend, the backpacks are returned.

“We never see the parents or the kids,” Haas remarked.

If interested in helping, call Haas at 847-951-5111 or Fortier at 224-217-2498.

“I have no doubt Des Plaines always jumps in to help,” mentioned Haas. “I see it time and time again.”

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