Loaves & Fishes Receives $5M For Hub Expansion From Endeavor Health

NAPERVILLE, IL — Endeavor Health kicked off its new Community Investment Fund Impact Award (CIF) by donating $5 million to Loaves & Fishes. The funds will be doled out as $1 million a year for the next five years and will help the pantry expand to double its space and storage capacity via its Hub 2.0 program.

The CIF Impact Award was founded to help aid initiatives that"emphasize innovation and partnership to address complex social drivers of health," a news release said.

“Access to nutritious food is foundational to health, yet many families in our region still struggle
to find it consistently,” Kristen Murtos, Chief Innovation and Transformation Officer of
Endeavor Health, said in a statement.

Murtos added, “Through their innovative hub-and-spoke model and deep community
partnerships, Loaves & Fishes is expanding access to healthy food in neighborhoods where the
need is greatest and helping address food insecurity as a social driver of health.”

A news release from Endeavor Health notes that the donation comes amid federal cuts to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid.

Plans for Loaves & Fishes' Hub 2.0 program include adding 32,000 square feet to the pantry's central hub in Aurora and supporting shared storage with other local food pantries.

Loaves & Fishes CEO Mike Havala said the pantry is "incredibly honored" to have been chosen as the CIF Impact Award's inaugural recipient.

Havala said, “This transformational support will change the trajectory of how families facing food insecurity are served and deepen collaboration with pantries across the region. We are grateful for Endeavor’s extraordinary partnership and the shared commitment that strengthens our entire community."