Illinois residents who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits continue to face uncertainty about the future of the program, even after the 43-day federal government shutdown ended last week.
In late October, during the fourth week of the government shutdown, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it would be completely unable to fund SNAP for the month of November. After federal courts intervened, the Trump administration authorized states to issue half the usual benefits using money from a USDA contingency fund.
Since then, food pantries on the South Side have faced increased traffic to their distribution sites. The Hyde Park–Kenwood Food Pantry, a member agency of the Greater Chicago Food Depository, saw a 30 percent increase in the number of households served each Saturday over the last month, according to Margaret Mitchell, the director of the Hyde Park–Kenwood Food Pantry and the Shailer Mathews Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School.
Food pantries affiliated with the Hyde Park & Kenwood Interfaith Council (HPKIC) have “seen a surge in visitors since the SNAP suspension began,” HPKIC caseworker Devonte Appleton, told the Maroon. HPKIC’s partners have reported “longer lines and faster depletion of supplies, particularly in South Side neighborhoods where SNAP reliance is high,” he added.
The Hyde Park–Kenwood Food Pantry also sought to procure more food supply and recruit more volunteers in response to increasing demand during the shutdown, Mitchell said. The pantry has “gone from 26–28 volunteers to nearly 40… on Saturdays to assist with food distribution,” she said. “Serving 150 households in three hours means moving very fast.”
SNAP recipients had already been facing disruptions before the shutdown. In July, Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which included provisions that restructured SNAP’s funding mechanisms and tightened eligibility and work requirements for recipients.
Specifically, OBBBA introduced a new state matching requirement for benefits, which have historically been funded entirely by the federal government, forcing states to spend significantly more of their own funds on SNAP. The Congressional Budget Office has warned that many states will be unable to do so, and 23 governors, including Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker, signed a letter to Congressional leadership in June stating that they may be forced to end their SNAP programs.
Mitchell explained that the food pantry had been preparing for a long-term increase in demand for several months due to the new work requirements for SNAP recipients and changes to Medicaid codified in the OBBBA.
“We are trying very much to maintain our regular food distribution and a sense of calm assurance on Saturdays even with larger crowds, [so] that everyone who comes will receive food,” she continued.
According to Appleton, food insecurity is expected to worsen in South Side neighborhoods even after the end of the federal government shutdown. “HPKIC anticipates increased reliance on charitable food programs and fears that already strained resources may be insufficient to meet sustained demand,” he said.
Both Mitchell and Appleton highlighted the impact of the SNAP suspension on newly affected individuals and families, noting that no new SNAP enrollees were approved this month. “Those who are newly unemployed, out on disability, or otherwise needing food assistance immediately this month must rely on food pantries,” Mitchell said.
According to Appleton, a lack of “outreach to newly affected families who may not have used food pantries before” has been a “gap” in Illinois’s response thus far.
Mitchell emphasized that while SNAP itself is a supplementary program, food pantries like the Hyde Park–Kenwood Food Pantry “are meant to be supplementary to the supplementary assistance.” According to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, SNAP provides the equivalent of about nine meals for every meal provided by the Feeding America network of food banks. Food pantries alone “are in no way able to fill the gap of those nine meals,” she added.
HPKIC is advocating for expanded nutritional support to offset federal cutbacks from the OBBBA, Appleton explained. He emphasized the need for “targeted state support for hyperlocal food programs, including logistical aid and grant access for small nonprofits.”
The uncertainty surrounding SNAP funding during the shutdown was itself harmful to families in need, Mitchell argued. “The dangling uncertainty about whether or not the federal government will ensure SNAP funding is not only about the loss of food, but it is also causing acute suffering and fear for our neighbors.… The human cost is great,” Mitchell said.
Although there has been some state and local action to mitigate the effects—such as an executive order by Pritzker allocating $20 million to food banks across Illinois—Mitchell said it “is not, and cannot be, a long-term solution.… The federal government needs to make good on its commitment to the SNAP program on behalf of our citizens and neighbors.”
