Sonia Garcia

Chicago, IL

Manager of Benefits Outreach, Greater Chicago Food Depository

Supporting high-need communities by expanding access to food and public benefits through policy, outreach, and systems-level change

Sonia Garcia is the manager of benefits outreach at the Greater Chicago Food Depository, a nonprofit food bank addressing hunger through food distribution, public benefits outreach, advocacy, and community partnerships. Sonia leads the SNAP and Medicaid outreach team efforts to reduce barriers to food and healthcare access and is focused on closing the SNAP gap in Cook County, where tens of thousands of eligible individuals remain unenrolled in benefits. As she expands her leadership role, she is focused on shaping the organization's benefits outreach strategy to reduce food insecurity, and she intends to utilize the Scholars program to strengthen her systems thinking and policy expertise to refine a county-wide plan to increase SNAP participation.