Federal cuts to the United States Department of Agriculture are indirectly affecting Beyond Hunger, the Oak Park-based food pantry.
But cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that could come in wake of passage of some form of the Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act are equally concerning.
According to Jennie Hull, the new Beyond Hunger executive director, about 65% of the food pantry’s food comes from the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Of that, nearly 30% is considered food from USDA.
“When there are cuts to USDA, that impacts the food that food pantries receive,” Hull said. “Now we have to purchase that food.”
Laura Gutierrez, Beyond Hunger board president, added that USDA cuts have created a domino effect locally.
“A good portion of our food comes from GCFD, which comes from USDA,” Gutierrez said, noting that the food pantry sometimes serves 300 families on Saturdays and up to 200 families on Wednesdays.
“Since Covid, our numbers have only increased in need,” she said. “We don’t want to serve people less food. We want to provide as much nutritious food as possible.”
Hull, who has worked for a decade in food pantries, said it remains to be seen how the One Big Beautiful Bill Act could create further issues for Beyond Hunger, located at 848 Lake St.
SNAP, she said, is a food stamp program that is designed, in part, to work with food pantries.
“When people use SNAP, it stretches the amount of money further,” Hull said. “Grocery stores would get money back through SNAP and that supports the local economy.”
One in four people in Illinois are on Medicaid, she added, so cuts to that program could place families in a position of deciding whether to pay for medications or food.
“If you force people to make that hard decision (it will) increase demand for Beyond Hunger,” she said. “If they lose any of those benefits, suddenly that need goes up.
“It’s harder and harder to keep up with demands in a dignified way. We’re already seeing a giant need due to inflation.”
Gutierrez said the potential of SNAP and Medicaid cuts are “deeply concerning.
“We won’t know what affects us until something gets pushed through,” she said. “We just hear there are going to be major cuts. There’s only speculation.
“Until GCFD sees any concrete cuts, that means we’re going to have to do more purchasing power on our end.”
Both Hull and Gutierrez said community support is welcomed, and that can be achieved multiple ways beyond cash donations.
For example, residents could host a food drive and deliver the acquired items to Beyond Hunger.
“Donating is great, but dollars are hard for everyone, not only for the residents we’re serving,” Gutierrez said. “We rely a lot on volunteers. They have their children even volunteering. Also, participating in advocacy; calling your lawmakers. SNAP and Medicaid go hand in hand with getting families nutritious foods.”