Created in the early months of the COVID-19 crisis and guided by a community-led steering committee, the Chicago Region Food System Fund (CRFSF) focuses on building resilience in the local food system, an area approximately 200 miles from Chicago. The total support granted by the Fund is $20,973,150 to 202 organizations since June 2020.

Fresh Taste administers the Fund, which is led by a Steering Committee of funders and community members.

The Fund has evolved from rapid-response grants responding to COVID-19 in June 2020 through multiple rounds of grantmaking. Throughout the evolving pandemic crisis, CRFSF reacted to the situation on-the-ground, with rounds of funding that focused on regranting partners, responding to the impacts of the Omicron variant, and building community resilience.

The response to the Fund was overwhelming, and the Chicago Region Food System Fund will continue for the foreseeable future with an emphasis on participatory grantmaking to make the food system more just and sustainable.