SNAP benefits halted as shutdown drags on, Illinois families brace for fallout
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SPRINGFIELD, IL – As the federal government enters its second month, millions of low-income Americans (including thousands in Illinois) now face cuts to their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and are preparing for what lies ahead as food pantry lines grow longer by the day.
For residents like Springfield’s Lisa Weaving, the loss of food aid is more than a political stalemate; This is a looming crisis.
“It’s very scary because I’m a cancer survivor. I’m in remission. My doctor hasn’t cleared me to go back to work yet, so I’m on disability and I really need extra money for food, because once I pay all the bills there’s really nothing left,” Weaving said.
A volunteer reaches for food supplies at a pantry serving families in need of SNAP assistance. (Olivianna Calmes)
He said his apartment building houses veterans, the elderly and the disabled. “Right now the whole building is in disarray because they don’t know where it is.” they will get their food from. “There’s a bread line across the street, but that only means one meal a day.”
Weaving said many neighbors turn to more than one pantry. “We have a pantry that’s open on Wednesdays from 12:30 to 3, and that’s once a month. You can get about ten items per person. More if you have kids. So that helps a lot of people, but they don’t have enough food for a month. So you’re jumping from pantry to pantry.”
USDA data show that more than 41 million Americans use SNAP, and the states with the highest participation rates are New Mexico, Oregon and Louisiana. (USDA/Fox News) (Olivianna Calmes)
At Washington Street Mission in Springfield, director Jarid Brown said demand in Central Illinois has increased sharply since the benefits freeze. “Yesterday, I got a call from one of our churches that has a large food pantry, and they had twice as many people there that night and they actually cleared everything out. If we double that number, it’s only going to take a few weeks. If we see that number triple, we’ll clean it out in a couple weeks.”
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“If you’re living in poverty, if you’re at that lowest income, it’s hard enough to get out of poverty as it is. But now you add rising food prices and rising utility prices. It makes it almost impossible for anyone to get out of that hole,” Brown added.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, provides federal food assistance to more than 40 million Americans each month. (Fox News) (Olivianna Calmes)
“This is the first time it’s going to get hit really hard,” Weaving said. “And with 42 million people going hungry in a place like Springfield, we worry that the crime rate could increase.”
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“There are talented organizations that abuse the system, but there are many others who need it,” Weaving said.
Brown said the biggest impact of the shutdown was the pause in benefits. “The biggest impact we would have with closing the budget would be freezing SNAP benefits,” he said. “My hope is that we can put politics aside for a minute and think about what needs to be done to reopen the government and then address the issues on which we differ. But holding individuals who need food assistance hostage for 1 or 2 issues is We hold service personnel hostage This is unacceptable for more than 1 or 2 problems.”
Shelves are full at the Washington Street Mission’s food pantry in Springfield, Illinois; staff here say area food pantries are struggling to keep up with increased demand. (Fox News) (Olivianna Calmes)
If people want to help, Brown said, they should start locally, donating food or money directly to community organizations already serving those in need.
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Illinois has joined other states in suing the federal government to require continued SNAP payments during the shutdown, arguing that state programs cannot fill the gap on their own.
Olivianna Calmes is a multimedia reporter covering national and Midwest stories for Fox News.
