(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- This week's Difference Maker has had success in addressing food insecurity across his community.
WBBM Newsradio's Brandon Ison has the story.
Based in Englewood, Dion's Chicago Dream is about centering health equity through lived experience while allowing those afflicted with food insecurity and often left out of the decision making into the driver's seat.
"We have to make sure that we are centering the recipient, listening to what people are going through and finding a way to get fresh produce to the person consistently," says Dion Dawson, founder and Chief Dreamer at Dion's Chicago Dream.
"I've been food insecure for years of my life," he says.
According to Feeding America, more than 613,000 residents in Cook County have lived in households that have struggled with food insecurity since 2021. More than 500,000 Chicago residents live in a "food desert" with a direct relation to economic status, according to the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Dawson says there's something different about the Dion's Chicago Dream approach to providing access to adequate, nutritious food.
"One of our differentiators is we don't give out donated food, we purchase all 75,000 pounds of fresh produce that we provide each month. We've provided more than a million pounds in the last four years. Every single pound we've purchased, all brand new, all fresh."
There is also no volunteer labor on Dion's Dream Team, creating more than 30 jobs that pay at least $20 an hour, on the South Side, where the median household income is less than $30,000, according to American Community Survey.
There are no volunteers on the Dion's Chicago Dream team; more than 30 jobs have been created, paying at least $20 an hour.Dion
"Last but not least, we deliver at no cost, we're delivering directly to the home, we don't have to have them standing outside waiting in long lines", says Dawson.
These things serve as differentiators that set Dion's Chicago Dream apart from every model in the country. Dawson shares a little more about himself, and the inspiration behind his dream.
"We started with nothing, no experience in philanthropy, couldn't get a job at Wal-Mart, was a disabled veteran, homeless, had no money. I learned about the sector, and I don't stop fundraising, but I also believe in what we're doing, and the result, no matter where you start, it's where you finish."
Fundraising through the community and the Dion's Chicago Dream website, Dion Dawson is making a difference in Chicago with a unique and sustainable model to address food insecurity for anyone who reaches out.
"We make sure we have a human element; we need to talk to them. We take them at their word, we put them on our waitlist, and from there once we get the funding secured to provide for them, we call them and then start delivering."
None of the food delivered by Dion's Chicago Dream comes second hand. All food is purchased with funds raised through grass-roots efforts.Dion
