Student Portraits Show the Faces of Hunger and Hope

The work of Elmhurst College art student Danielle Dobies will be featured in Faces of Sustenance, an exhibition of portraits highlighting the people and work of Northern Illinois Food Bank. 

The paintings in the exhibition are part of a project Dobies undertook at the beginning of 2010, to use her talents as an artist to call attention to the Food Bank's mission of providing nutritious food to people in need. Through her paintings of volunteers, staff and clients, Dobies wields the power of the visual image "to advocate for the Food Bank and urge others to donate, volunteer and involve themselves."

The one-day exhibition will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 30, in the Founders Lounge of the Frick Center at Elmhurst College, 190 Prospect Ave. Dobies, a junior at the college, will give a gallery talk from 5:30 to 6 p.m. that evening. Admission to the exhibit is free and the public is welcome.

Faces of Sustenance is a creative example of the kind of work that continues to be done as part of the Poverty Project, Elmhurst College's efforts in the classroom and beyond to confront and alleviate poverty.

Dobies' project is funded by the Thing 1 2 3 Foundation Fellowship, which was created in partnership with Northern Illinois Food Bank to provide an opportunity for Elmhurst College students to help bring hunger relief to economically struggling households and communities in northern Illinois.

For more than 25 years, Northern Illinois Food Bank has provided hunger relief to people in 13 northern Illinois counties, working with 665 food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and youth sites to feed 61,600 people each week. Last year, the Food Bank was recognized by Feeding America as the 2010 Food Bank of the Year.