Starting in February, people ages 18-64 without dependents will need to work, volunteer or participate in qualifying education programs for at least 80 hours each month to keep their SNAP benefits. Those who do not meet the requirements or don\u2019t qualify for an exemption will receive only three months of benefits within a three-year period.<\/p>\n
People could start losing their benefits in May if they didn\u2019t meet the work requirement for three consecutive months. And they may continue to lose them at any time if they fail to meet work requirements going forward, which will increase stress and anxiety for people already struggling to make ends meet, said Verenice Martinez, director of food distribution services for the Midway food pantry Pan de Vida, 2701 S. Lawndale Ave., operated by New Life Centers of Chicagoland.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt this time, the benefits made to help the most vulnerable are the most unstable,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Local food pantries are bracing for more people relying on them to get food \u2014 even as pantries, food banks and soup kitchens are already stretched thin \u2014 as demand has grown after the pandemic and rising food prices, said Camerin Mattson, communications manager for the Greater Chicago Food Depository.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are preparing for an ongoing hunger crisis,\u201d Mattson said. <\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/022621-United-Center-Vaccination-Center-ColinBoyle-2.jpg\")
A Greater Chicago Food Depository truck drives on Feb. 26 past the United Center on the Near West Side. Credit: Colin Boyle\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n
Over 1.8 million people in Illinois received SNAP benefits as of September 2025<\/a>, state data shows. Up to 360,000 people in the state could lose them<\/a>, Gov. JB Pritzker\u2019s office previously said. That includes up to 20,000 unhoused people, veterans and youth who have aged out of foster care, according to Pritzker\u2019s office.<\/p>\n Locally, most pantries do not track how many of their visitors already receive SNAP benefits. <\/p>\n But many pantries have seen more families who already did not qualify for benefits or who stopped working due to fear of immigration raids relying on their services to ensure their households have enough food, Martinez said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe find that our pantries are now not only supplementing our families in need, they might actually be their only source [of food],\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The new work requirements place additional burdens on people facing food insecurity, Mattson said. Cook County and state leaders decried the federal administration\u2019s policy at a news conference Wednesday, saying the new imposed requirements will have \u201creal and lasting impacts,\u201d CBS Chicago reported.<\/a><\/p>\n Among those impacted are people 55 and older, including veterans and those experiencing homelessness, who will now have to meet new work requirements, according to the Illinois Department of Human Services.<\/a> People in these groups could face additional challenges in finding employment due to their age or impact on their families, Mattson said.<\/p>\n \u201cVolunteering is also an option, but obviously, some of the same barriers for people seeking employment [remain]. Sometimes there are transportation barriers or other reasons why people can\u2019t volunteer, such as people caring for their grandbabies so their children can work,\u201d Mattson said.<\/p>\n At the same time, it\u2019s hard to predict when large numbers of people could lose SNAP benefits, challenging pantries and food banks to be consistently ready to distribute more food. But past experience shows that when families lose SNAP benefits, they turn to pantries, soup kitchens and emergency food distributions<\/a>, Mattson said.<\/p>\n The Greater Chicago Food Depository supplies food at no cost to a network of more than 850 food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and other sites in Chicago and Cook County. Amid the government shutdown, attendance reached the \u201chighest point\u201d in the food bank\u2019s history, Mattson said. <\/p>\n \u201cDuring that month, throughout our network and at our extra emergency food box distributions, we served 240,000 household visits, and that\u2019s a record in our nearly 50-year history,\u201d Mattson said. <\/p>\n In Garfield Park, the week before benefits were suspended during the shutdown, the number of people visiting Above and Beyond Food Pantry, 817 S. Pulaski Road,\u00a0almost tripled, said director Ken Cozzi. About 450 people visited the pantry, up from an average of 178 people per day. That could happen again if people believe their benefits are ending in February, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cNot only is there a big change, [but] people don\u2019t know how to navigate it,\u201d Cozzi said. <\/p>\n Cozzi has fielded questions and shared information about the new requirements with regular pantry visitors who are unsure whether they qualify for exemptions. <\/p>\n As the Feb. 1 deadline approaches, people who regularly visit the pantry have also started asking if the pantry has jobs or volunteering opportunities to meet the 80-hour requirement, Cozzi said. Pan de Vida has a resource table and has partnered with local groups to have representatives who can answer pantry visitors\u2019 questions, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository has circulated flyers and online information.<\/p>\n \u201cTaking the time to really read on what\u2019s happening eliminates the fear and the panic,\u201d Martinez said. <\/p>\n Staff at Above and Beyond Food Pantry are trying to work with people \u201cas much as we can,\u201d but the pantry does not have the capacity to employ or have as many people volunteer, Cozzi said.<\/p>\n Many pantry visitors have low-paying or unstable jobs, cannot get more work hours, take care of children older than 14 or their elderly parents and grandkids, and juggle other responsibilities, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have quite a few people like that, trying to balance life and everything else. They\u2019re working, they\u2019re putting effort, and they\u2019re still falling short,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMGL6339-1024x683.jpg\")
Families wait in line as food arrives for distribution at Above and Beyond Food Pantry, 817 S. Pulaski Rd. Credit: Provided<\/p>\n
![\"Food](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMGL6336-1024x683.jpg\")
Food arrives for distribution at Above and Beyond Food Pantry, 817 S. Pulaski Rd. Credit: Provided<\/p>\n