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‘Lines are longer than ever’ –SNAP changes putting more pressure on local food pantries · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Lines are longer than ever SNAP changes putting more pressure
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  Speaker 1: on local food pantries. Written by Joey Weslow, This article
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  Speaker 1: is being read by an automated voice brought to you
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  Speaker 1: by Everlett. An estimated one hundred fifty thousand Illinoisans are
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  Speaker 1: at risk of losing food assistants from new federal work
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  Speaker 1: requirements that began May first, according to state agencies. Julie Yerko,
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  Speaker 1: president and CEO of the Northern Illinois Food Bank based
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  Speaker 1: in Geneva, said the nonprofit is deeply concerned about the
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  Speaker 1: recent changes. The organization serves around five hundred, five hundred
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  Speaker 1: seventy thousand people across thirteen counties through more than nine
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  Speaker 1: hundred food pantries, shelters, soup kitchens, and feeding programs, claiming
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  Speaker 1: the new work requirements will reduce fraud in the Federal
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  Speaker 1: Supplemental Nutritius Assistance Program SNAP. The Trump administration and Congression
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  Speaker 1: Republicplicants expanded the definition of able bodied adults without dependence,
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  Speaker 1: therefore making more applicants subject to work requirements. In twenty
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  Speaker 1: twenty three, less than one percent of applicants in the program,
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  Speaker 1: or forty one thousand, four hundred and seventy six people
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  Speaker 1: were disqualified from SNAP for fraud. According to the Associated Press,
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  Speaker 1: only US citizens and some lawful immigrants are eligible for SNAP.
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  Speaker 1: Under the new requirements, anyone aged eighteen sixty four or
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  Speaker 1: without children under fourteen are considered able bodied, meaning physically
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  Speaker 1: and mentally able to work. Recipients without an exemption must
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  Speaker 1: spend at least eighty hours each month working earning nine
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  Speaker 1: hundred and thirty five dollars per month or more, or
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  Speaker 1: participate in an approved work program. Previously, adults aged fifty
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  Speaker 1: four or older or with dependents eighteen and younger were eligible.
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  Speaker 1: The changes also add new work requirements for people experiencing homelessness, veterans,
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  Speaker 1: and former foster children twenty four and younger. The Congressional
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  Speaker 1: Budget Office estimates the changes will reduce federal SNAP participation
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  Speaker 1: by two point four million over the next decade. As
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  Speaker 1: of March, around one point nine million people received SNAP
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  Speaker 1: benefits in Illinois, representing one million, forty nine thousand, five
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  Speaker 1: hundred and twenty eight households. According to the Illinois Department
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  Speaker 1: of Human Services, each household receives an average of three
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  Speaker 1: hundred and seventy dollars per month, with the average per
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  Speaker 1: individual around one hundred and eighty eight dollars per month.
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  Speaker 1: At a time when food insecurity is already rising, These
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  Speaker 1: changes risk pushing even more families to turn to local
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  Speaker 1: food pantries for support. Yorko said the Northern Illitoi Food
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  Speaker 1: Bank estimates in May and June alone, it will distribute
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  Speaker 1: more than one million meals, driven in part by new
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  Speaker 1: SNAP requirements, The non prov is expecting an increase of
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  Speaker 1: thirty five thousand additional people per month during this period.
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  Speaker 1: Across our network, lines are longer than ever, food pantries
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  Speaker 1: are reporting increased demand, and cars are lining up for
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  Speaker 1: mobile food distributions as early as five am, Yuko said.
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  Speaker 1: Yuko said the nonprofit is urging lawmakers to support its
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  Speaker 1: Strategic Fresh initiative, which prioritizes access to fresh produce, dairy,
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  Speaker 1: and lean proteins, providing a coordinated, data driven response to
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  Speaker 1: hunger in Illinois. Trying to meet the need. In response
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  Speaker 1: to the increased demand, the South Suburban Center in Joliet
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  Speaker 1: held a pop up mobile food distribution Juice event at
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  Speaker 1: Joliet Junior College on May ninth to provide free groceries
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  Speaker 1: to an extra seven hundred and fifty households. Senior ser
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  Speaker 1: manager Rob Desio said the efforts to meet the community's
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  Speaker 1: need will require more volunteers to sort, pack, and distribute
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  Speaker 1: the larger meal volumes. He said the center is anticipating
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  Speaker 1: serving an additional one hundred seventy thousand meals to more
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  Speaker 1: than five thousand, six hundred people in Will County. With
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  Speaker 1: the loss of SNAP benefits, the real pain will be
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  Speaker 1: felt by our pantry partners that serve neighbors every day,
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  Speaker 1: and most acutely, by the thousands of people who will
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  Speaker 1: struggle even more to access nutritious food, Desio said. Alex Hurd,
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  Speaker 1: executive director of the Kendall County Community Food Pantry in Yorkville,
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  Speaker 1: said after an influx of new registers following SNAP changes,
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  Speaker 1: demand has started to stabilize. He said with a string
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  Speaker 1: of construction improvements to the pantry, they will be ready
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  Speaker 1: if demand spikes again. The pantry is currently expanding racking
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  Speaker 1: within the warehouse to accommodate greater inventory, refurbishing flooring, upgrading
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  Speaker 1: energy efficient lighting, and creating an eightya accessible entryway in
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  Speaker 1: the front and back entrances. During the construction, the pantry
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  Speaker 1: is drived through only indoor shopping should begin again by
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  Speaker 1: mid June. I want to remind people we're here if
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  Speaker 1: you are in need of food support, and we're here
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  Speaker 1: in terms of availability for volunteering, Herd said, we're waiting
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  Speaker 1: to see if people previously relying on snap are looking
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  Speaker 1: to fill that gap. There's also a trickle down effect.
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  Speaker 1: It might have an effect on our volunteers. What could
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  Speaker 1: it possibly do to our inventory in terms of what
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  Speaker 1: we are able to provide to each family, Heard said,
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  Speaker 1: for many volunteers, the pantry is like their second home.
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  Speaker 1: He wants to make sure that any changes brought on
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  Speaker 1: by the new requirements maintain the current long term volunteers
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  Speaker 1: that are the heart of the pantry. If there's an
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  Speaker 1: increase in demand, the pantry might need to increase food
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  Speaker 1: drive requests. Heard said. Local community groups do a great
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  Speaker 1: job supporting the pantry. He said, but if necessary, the
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  Speaker 1: pantry can reach out to their rescue grocery stores and
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  Speaker 1: ask for increased donations. We may be having to spend
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  Speaker 1: a little extra on our side to purchase things like
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  Speaker 1: proteins and milk, Herd said. Impact on grocery stores with
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  Speaker 1: food prices up three point one percent in twenty twenty five,
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  Speaker 1: and projected by the USDA to jump another two point
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  Speaker 1: nine percent in twenty twenty six. Food distribution centers say
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  Speaker 1: the Snap changes could not have come at a worse time,
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  Speaker 1: and cutting back on Snap recipients will have a negative
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  Speaker 1: impact on grocers and other retailers. Desio said the loss
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  Speaker 1: in dollars spent by Snap recipients at food stores could
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  Speaker 1: result in such businesses losing close to thirty thousand dollars
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  Speaker 1: per month statewide. He said the economic impact of cuts
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  Speaker 1: to Snap will be felt by everyone as retailers cope
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  Speaker 1: with decreased revenue. Desio said, we fear that grocery prices,
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  Speaker 1: which have risen thirty percent since twenty twenty, could rise
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  Speaker 1: further and the retail job SNAP supports could be lost.