SUSTENANCE

Chicago and the Food Chain

Fred Daniels, 31, the site manager of Growing Home, a community-based agriculture project, adjusts the row cover inside one of the facility's hoop houses where a range of root and leaf vegetables are grown in the high crime Englewood neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois on December 22, 2014. Englewood is one of the neighborhoods most hard hit by violent crime year after year in Chicago but has not avoided the healthier food fashion, with the national organic grocery retail chain Whole Foods announcing that it will be opening a store in the neighborhood at 61st Street and Halsted. Photo by Amanda Rivkin.

The lattice of the ladders and silos storing corn and soy at Northern Partners Cooperative in Mendota, Illinois on December 26, 2014. Corn and soy are the two main crops grown in the state of Illinois; corn and soy grown in the Illinois River Valley is shipped down the Illinois River, which flows into the Mississippi River before being sent on barges to world markets through the ports of Louisiana. Photo by Amanda Rivkin.

Crowds gather for the Bud Biliken Day Parade and Picnic, a large back to school event, in Washington Park in Chicago, Illinois on August 8, 2015. Photo by Amanda Rivkin.

Photo by Amanda Rivkin.

Alex Warner, 10, of Rantoul, Illinois waits to show his angus cow "Little Rascal" at the Champaign County Fair in Urbana, Illinois on July 30, 2015. Summer is county fair season and in Illinois, that means food, 4H, and the midway; Warner's angus cow placed first in the lightweight class of angus cow. Photo by Amanda Rivkin.

The Greater Chicago Food Depository runs the Healthy Kids Market which distributes nutritious foods and basic essentials to qualifying parents from the cafeteria of the Calmeca Academy of Fine Arts and Dual Language School in the Brighton Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois on January 15, 2015. One in six Chicagoans requires food assistance. Photo by Amanda Rivkin.

About the Project

In Sustenance: Chicago and the Food Chain, photographer Amanda Rivkin documents the realities of food access in Chicago through the eyes of children at home, school, and in their communities. The exhibit is framed by discussions of where Chicago sits in the world of global agriculture and the ways in which innovative programs around the city are working to expand children’s relationships with nutrition and the complex economics of food production.

The COVID-19 Pandemic and recent inflation has led to increased food insecurity and poverty across the country, including throughout the Chicago area. The impact of these two crises have disproportionately impacted communities of color and households that have one or more members with a disability. Local food banks, the Greater Chicago Food Depository, and others are working to provide food and nutrition education to those in need. As food insecurity and rising costs continue to impact individuals and families in Chicago and around the world, it is so important to support community organizations working to provide food, resources, and other assistance to those who need it. Additionally, bringing attention to this global issue of food access can spark conversation about systemic inequities, ethical food production and more.

about the artists

Amanda Rivkin is an American photojournalist.

Public Programs

Sustenance: Chicago and the Food Chain – Springfield Tour

October 2016

Springfield Area Arts Council and Illinois Stewardship Alliance

Sustenance: Chicago and the Food Chain – Agricoltura Provincia di Trieste

March 22, 2016