Bill Text: IL HR0320 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges the State of Illinois to develop policies to reduce food waste and address increasing food insecurity.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-06-29 - Rule 19(b) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HR0320 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2023-HR0320-Introduced.html
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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives recognize that food waste production in | ||||||
| 4 | Illinois is high; the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency | ||||||
| 5 | reports that 19 million tons of waste is landfilled in | ||||||
| 6 | Illinois every year, and of that, food waste accounts for as | ||||||
| 7 | much as 20%, which is more than any other single waste stream | ||||||
| 8 | found in landfills across the State; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, The COVID-19 pandemic intensified food | ||||||
| 10 | insecurity, and the State now faces unprecedented levels of | ||||||
| 11 | hunger; Feeding America reports that, in Illinois, | ||||||
| 12 | approximately 1,201,290 people are facing hunger, of which | ||||||
| 13 | 315,330 are children; the average cost of a meal in Illinois is | ||||||
| 14 | $3.58, while the State's minimum wage is currently $13 per | ||||||
| 15 | hour; the rise in the cost of living due to inflation means | ||||||
| 16 | that families have to depend on community-based and mutual aid | ||||||
| 17 | organizations to fill gaps in nourishment to sustain | ||||||
| 18 | themselves daily; and
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| 19 | WHEREAS, The increasing number of grocery store closures | ||||||
| 20 | across the State of Illinois have exacerbated food insecurity; | ||||||
| 21 | in November 2022, a Whole Foods in Chicago's Englewood | ||||||
| 22 | neighborhood closed its doors just 6 years after opening; | ||||||
| 23 | similarly, two Aldi locations in Chicago closed their doors | ||||||
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| 1 | abruptly, claiming crime and theft as reasons for closing; | ||||||
| 2 | these sudden closures create food deserts in communities | ||||||
| 3 | already facing limited resources, forcing residents to travel | ||||||
| 4 | longer distances to visit a grocery store; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, The demand for food exceeds the available supply | ||||||
| 6 | in high-need, low-income communities; the Greater Chicago Food | ||||||
| 7 | Depository provided 77.3 million meals in 2022, a 25% increase | ||||||
| 8 | compared to pre-pandemic times; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has no existing framework | ||||||
| 10 | to deal with food waste production fit for human consumption | ||||||
| 11 | to alleviate food insecurity; therefore, be it
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| 12 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 13 | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 14 | we urge the State of Illinois to develop policies to reduce | ||||||
| 15 | food waste and address increasing food insecurity.
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