Northern Illinois Food Bank seeks volunteers for Poverty Simulation

Could you survive a single month in poverty?

It is difficult for those of us who have enough to truly understand the situations that families living in poverty experience every day: the decisions they have to make and stress they incur just trying to provide for their families. Join Northern Illinois Food Bank in a Community Action Poverty Simulation. You will take on the role of a business and interact with the participants who are assuming the role of a person living in poverty. During the simulation, you will witness the challenges that so many of our neighbors face each month.

The event will take place from 7:30-11:30 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 24 and Wednesday, Oct. 29 at Northern Illinois Food Bank, 273 Dearborn Court in Geneva. Volunteers can participate in one or both of the simulations.

The poverty simulation provides participants with the opportunity to assume the role of a low-income family member living on a limited budget. As one participant commented, “This poverty simulation drastically demonstrates how much time and energy many families have to give just to survive from day to day.”

The experience lasts three hours. It includes an introduction and briefing, the actual simulation exercise, and a debriefing period in which participants and volunteer staffers share their experiences and talk about what they have learned about the lives of people in poverty.

Registration is required. To volunteer, contact Abby Johnson by Oct. 17 at 630-443-6910 ext. 173 or ajohnson@northernilfoodbank.org.

More than 71,000 people each week seek food assistance through Northern Illinois Food Bank’s network of 800 food pantries and feeding programs across 13 counties. Northern Illinois Food Bank is able to turn every $1 donated into $8 of groceries for hungry neighbors. To learn more, log onto www.SolveHungerToday.org.