This was my second cover story for Illinois Times. I learned a lot from my first cover story (nuclear power), and successfully applied those lessons in this article. I’m very pleased with how it turned out, and would like to continue coverage on the challenges of mass-producers meeting the organic food demand.

From floor to ceiling, the Central Illinois Food Bank’s 25,000-square-foot warehouse on the east side of Springfield is packed with donations, ranging from traditional items like juice boxes, cereal and canned goods to the more unusual – chili-flavored lollipops, strawberry corn starch and potato chips made to taste like ketchup. In six weeks, new inventory will have completely replaced the old, as the food bank will have distributed the 700,000 pounds it now has on hand to food pantries, soup kitchens and other nonprofit hunger relief organizations.

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