Funding for America’s largest hunger prevention program is hanging in the balance, and local food aid organizations are trying to fill the gap.
While two federal judges have ruled to block President Donald Trump’s plan to stop all funding to SNAP, the nation’s largest hunger prevention program, the 2 million Illinois residents who rely on the benefits will still likely deal with delays and interrupted service amid the government shutdown. The White House announced Monday that the federal government will restore funding to the program using money from a Department of Agriculture contingency fund, but program participants will only receive half the amount they’d normally receive.
Over the last weekend, program participants did not see benefits hit their accounts and expected to receive no SNAP benefits during the entire month of November. In the midst of that stress and uncertainty, Oak Park-based food assistance organization Beyond Hunger said it provided food to more households in need than it had ever before in its nearly five decades of operation over the course of a single weekend.
“This past weekend we served the most households we have ever served in our 47-year history, representing 1,200 individuals in our community,” said Jennie Hull, Beyond Hunger’s CEO. “With benefits only being partially funded and the timeline of their release extremely uncertain, we expect to only continue to see historical numbers at our pantry.”
While the organization, which serves people in need on Chicago’s west side and in the city’s western suburbs, expected to serve about 5,000 residents during the months of November and December, Beyond Hunger now expects to provide food to more than 6,000 residents during that time. That would be a more than 25% increase over 2024’s holiday season, Hull said.
This disruption to benefits comes after the federal government passed a budget over the summer that changed SNAP eligibility standards, resulting in as many as 450,000 Illinois residents losing their benefits, Hull said. Those changes went into effect on Nov. 1.
“Even after the shutdown, whenever that is, the changes to SNAP via the bill passed this summer, will have an immediate impact on about 450,000 Illinois residents so our benefits folks will be working hard to make sure folks can stay on SNAP and stay educated about what this change means,” Hull said.
During this time, Beyond Hunger volunteers have been working longer shifts and taking more shifts to meet the increased needs, Hull said.
The organization is also seeking financial donations. Because of the group’s purchasing power, a $1 donation can help cover three meals for Beyond Hunger Clients.
Hull said that in this moment, the organization ahs seen an outpouring of community support, in the form of new volunteers, food drives benefiting the organization and people reaching out to see what they can do. That support must continue, she said.
“In my many years working in the food insecurity field, I have never been more concerned about families struggling with hunger,” she said. “Food is not something families can ‘wait out.’ Our neighbors who depend on SNAP to afford groceries each month will see their benefits disappear quickly and completely. For some, that will happen within days. Facing heightened food insecurity, especially during the holidays, is an unfathomable situation that will become a reality for many.”
