top of page

 Feeding Homeless High School Students

But school meals end Friday at 2pm. By Sunday night, the refrigerator is empty. By Monday morning, she goes to class hungry, unable to focus, falling further behind.

​

Unless someone shows up with a home-cooked meal.

A young Hispanic girl is a homeless student at a Des Plaines, IL high school.

Maria qualifies for free lunch at her Maine Township high school.

What is Bessie's Express?

We are a small, 100% volunteer, charity dedicated to feeding homeless students in the Northwest Chicago area.   

 

In October, 2025, we started Bessie's Express. We partner with church kitchens like Bessie's Table and our route-driver teams to deliver home-cooked meals to students like Maria and their families. Real food. Delivered to their door with dignity. No questions asked.

 

Twice a week, volunteers cook. Twice a week, drivers deliver. Hungry families eat.

Were you looking for Bessie's Table? 

Bessie's Table is a sister ministry serving home-cooked dinners to visitors on Monday nights. All are welcome. Visit their page for more.

What is Bessie's Express?

Hunger is The Problem.

390 high school students across the northwest Chicago suburbs are homeless.

 

Nearly 9,500 more qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. School meals end Friday at 2pm. By Sunday night, refrigerators are empty. By Monday morning, they go to class hungry.

​

source: *Data: Illinois State Board of Education, 2025 Report Card.

We are 100% local. 100% volunteer.

A map of the area and communities served by Bessie’s Express that have at least some high school students classified as homeless. The map shows Des Plaines, Il and the surrounding cities and towns for a 8-mile radius from Des Plaines.

Our 3 point model is very scalable. Our next goal is to open an additional program in a community near to our Des Plaines location.

The Solution: The Three-Legged Stool 

Bessie's Express succeeds because three partners work together. Remove one leg, and the stool collapses.

An info graphic depicting the operational model for Bessie’s Express, which is a food based charity that serves meals to homeless high school students. The graphic shows three legs of a stool: one leg is the sponsoring church with a food kitchen to prepare meals; the next leg is the high school, which picks the students who are qualified for food and meal assistance; the third leg is Bessie’s Express which delivers the meals to students every week and manages the complete program.

  1. High school social workers know which families need help. They identify students and families who are struggling.
     

  2. Church kitchens provide the volunteer cooks who prepare meals. They donate their kitchens, their time, and their love. We cover the groceries.
     

  3. Bessie’s Express coordinates the entire operation and delivers every meal.    We maintain the family roster, schedule volunteers, communicate with church kitchens and school social workers, and ensure consistent quality across every delivery night.

Dive deeper...

Hunger is the problem
The solution: The three legged stool
Learn More

How Bessie's Express works

Each person, in each family, receives meals for two days, a family-style salad, a family-style desert, a cold lunch for the next day, and snacks.

Kitchen crews start preparing and cooking early in the morning. The raw ingredients for today’s delivery meals are a combination of what we purchase and whatever donations come in from grocery stores and food pantries.  Each meal is prepared with love – just like you’d enjoy at your family table. In the late afternoon, the drive teams arrive, pack the delivery bags, and load their cars.  

​

Most of our families have some income—enough to cover a few meals each week, but not enough to feed their kids every night. The gap is real, and it's consistent.          

How Bessie's Express works
A photo of the chef in the food prep kitchen making meals for delivery to homeless high school students who are enrolled with Bessie’s Express.
A photo of the head chef and an assistant filling meal trays for delivery to homeless high school students and their families.
Meal trays filled with home-cooked meals ready for delivery by Bessie’s Express. Meals consist of a protean meat entrée, salad, a starch such as potatoes or rice, and a fruit side dish. Salads and desserts are packaged separately.
A member of the volunteer driver teams packs her car with delivery bags filled with home-cooked meals from Bessie’s Express. She will deliver these meals directly to the doors of the families on her route.

Feeding Students and Their Families: Our Impact

In October, 2025, when we started Bessie’s Express, we served 9 meals a week. By the Spring of 2026, it had grown to 135 meals every week.

 

In those six months, we delivered  over 2,000 meals total. The students and families in our program no longer go hungry.

​

The model is simple. Our solution is real.  The wait list keeps growing.

Feeding Students and Their Families: Our Impact

How You Can Help

A photo that symbolizes the happiness of a homeless high school student who is smiling because her family received free home cooked meals from Bessie;s Express.

What we need is funding to buy food and expand our reach.

YOUR ONE-TIME GIFT

​

$13 = two nights of dinner, a cold lunch for the next day, and healthy snacks for one person.

​

$39 = feeds a family of three with two meals, lunch and snacks.

 

Whatever you can give puts food on a table. Any amount feeds a student who would otherwise go hungry.

SECURE OUR WORK WITH A MONTHLY GIFT PLEDGE

​

$52 = Adopt a student or family member, feed them every month with delivered meals.

​

$208/month  feeds one family four nights a week, all year long. Set it once, and you'll know every week a student and family is eating because of you.

​

Other amount. Every gift helps feed hungry kids.

bottom of page