815 Hunger Luncheon
Taking Action to Address Hunger
There are plenty of statistics that show hunger in our community is undeniably real. However, getting bogged down in statistics can divert our attention from where it should be: the people who struggle to put good, nutritious food on their families’ tables. They are not nameless, faceless individuals. They are friends and neighbors, people we regularly walk past on the streets of Rockford who need assistance.
The 815 Hunger Luncheon, originally started in the 1980s, has been just one of the Rockford community’s initiatives to help those who can’t afford the groceries they need.
The 2025 Hunger Luncheon exceeded its goal by raising a record $82,305 for the nine pantries in the Greater Rockford Pantry Coalition (GRPC), but that doesn’t come close to meeting the need in our community.
The 2026 luncheon was held on Sept. 30 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church. This year, Winnebago County Board Chairman Joe Chiarelli joined in the effort to help our friends and neighbors feed their families. The luncheon is the culmination of a six-week-long funding campaign for the GRPC.