The AIDS Foundation of Chicago launched a Web site in September that connects Chicago residents to food assistance resources in Cook and collar counties.

Direct2Food.org was developed by the Illinois Food and Nutrition Advocacy Partnership with a conglomerate of different agencies, including AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Greater Chicago Food Depository and AgeOptions.

Direct2Food is a useful tool for low-income families who are having a hard time putting food on their tables. The site gives families and providers the ability to learn about and access food assistance programs. Direct2Food has a directory that lists community-based food resources, such as soup kitchens, food pantries and home delivered meals to just seniors.

“With the economic downturn, we are finding that more people are struggling to put food on their tables and need access to a variety of different resources,” said Jessica Terlikowski, AFC’s policy manager. “Direct2Food helps people learn about the range of resources that are out there, from food pantries, soup kitchens and delivery meals, to seniors and disabled people.”

Jonathon Briggs, vice president of communications, said the ability to access nutritional food is essential for all people, but particularly critical for people with HIV and AIDS.

“We know a lot of people that are dealing with HIV are also low-income, so this is another tool to help them access resources in their community,” Briggs said.

Terlikowski said proper nutrition can better facilitate the absorption of medication for HIV patients and better maximize the way the medication actually works.

To navigate the Web site, users can either enter their zip code to see what type of food assistance is located near them, or answer a few questions that will provide a response from food assistance programs for which they might be eligible.

“If I enter in that I am an HIV-positive mother and have my older mother living with me, I can get a result that I might be eligible for food stamps or that I can access the food pantry service that serves HIV- positive people,” Terlikowski said.

According to AgeOptions red tape-cutter specialist Elizabeth Lough, this site is useful for community seniors.

“We are an area agency on aging, so we fund agencies that provide funding for services to seniors,” Lough said. “If we had a caller that called and asked for help locating a food pantry, we would be able to use the site to find a food pantry in their area. There is no way we would know where all the food pantries were without this resource.”

Lough said AgeOptions would specifically use the Direct2Food site to help find a soup kitchen or a food pantry for seniors and will send seniors to local agencies, rather than into offices to find resources.