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RESOLUTION
APPROVING THE DUPAGE FOOD PANTRY CHALLENGE GRANT PROGRAM
IN THE AMOUNT OF $2,000,000
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WHEREAS, the County of DuPage (“County”) is a body corporate and politic; and
WHEREAS, the County has allocated $2,000,000 (TWO MILLION DOLLARS) for the DuPage Food Pantry Challenge Grant Program (“Program") funded through the DuPage Sustainability Initiative; and
WHEREAS, the purpose of the Program is to reduce food insecurity by making lasting improvements to the County’s food pantry network; and
WHEREAS, the Program is limited to larger scale capital infrastructure projects which impact multiple pantries or organizations, and which demonstrate improvements for the food pantry network; and
WHEREAS, consistent with the larger scale vision, the minimum grant request is $250,000; and
WHEREAS, each individual project shall be funded through a County share and a grantee share, where the County share shall not exceed 50% of total project costs; and
WHEREAS, the Program encourages individual grant requests with multiple applicant sponsors as a means of demonstrating collaboration across the food pantry network; and
WHEREAS, the Program’s online portal for applications will open on or about 11/09/2026 and close on 12/18/2026; and
WHEREAS, to be eligible for the Program, applicants shall: (i) be a 501(c)(3) organization in good standing with the Illinois Secretary of State; (ii) complete the on-line portal application; and (iii) present their funding request to DuPage County Board members; and
WHEREAS, County staff shall review applications for eligibility and completeness prior to presentations to DuPage County Board members; and
WHEREAS, selected projects will be notified no later than March 1, 2027 of the County’s intention to fund the projects contingent upon the applicant securing of funds necessary to fulfill the grantee share prior to November 30, 2027; and
WHEREAS, all terms and conditions of the grant awards will be documented in a contract developed upon the applicant’s successful securement of the grantee share; and
WHEREAS, applicant’s failure to secure the grantee share by November 30, 2027 will result an expiration of the County’s funding commitment; and
WHEREAS, all unobligated funds after the November 30, 2027 deadline will be used by the County for the purchase of food, or other activities addressing food insecurity in subsequent years.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the DuPage County Board authorizes the existence and creation of the DuPage Food Pantry Challenge Grant Program; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the DuPage County Board directs County staff to execute the Program in accordance with the criteria set forth in this resolution.
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Enacted and approved this 27th day of October, 2026 at Wheaton, Illinois.
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DEBORAH A. CONROY, CHAIR
DU PAGE COUNTY BOARD
Attest: ___________________________________
JEAN KACZMAREK, COUNTY CLERK