Why SNAP Matters in Illinois and What These Cuts Would Mean for Our Communities
In a small town outside Springfield, a grandmother on a fixed income is raising her two grandkids. She stretches every dollar between gas, medication, and groceries, and SNAP is what makes that possible. When the check is short, it’s the difference between peanut butter sandwiches and an empty fridge.
Now imagine her, and over a million other families in Illinois, without it.
Right now, Congress is weighing legislation that would cut nearly $300 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) over the next decade. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, this would be the largest cut to SNAP in U.S. history. The proposal would reduce benefits, restrict access through expanded work-reporting requirements, and shift financial responsibility onto states already stretched thin.
Who SNAP Serves in Illinois
In Illinois, more than 1.8 million people rely on SNAP each month. That includes:
Families with young children
Older adults living on Social Security
People with disabilities
Low-wage workers balancing rising costs for rent, groceries, and gas
Nearly 60% of SNAP households in Illinois are raising children. Cuts to the program wouldn’t just increase hunger. They would impact schools, after-school programs, and even healthcare outcomes. SNAP helps kids focus in school, supports better birth outcomes for pregnant mothers, and reduces long-term health costs.
What’s in the Proposal?
Here’s what the House-passed reconciliation bill would do:
Cut $290 billion from SNAP over ten years
Expand work-reporting requirements to adults ages 50 to 64
Eliminate waivers that currently protect rural counties and areas with high unemployment
Shift funding responsibility for SNAP benefits to state budgets
If passed, the result would be 3 million households losing access to SNAP, according to national estimates. Millions more could see benefit reductions or be caught in red tape.
For every meal provided by food banks in Illinois, SNAP provides nine. There is no realistic way that charitable food systems could fill the gap created by cuts of this magnitude.
The Rural and Downstate Impact
Cuts to SNAP and Medicaid don’t just hit city neighborhoods. They strike hardest in rural and under-resourced regions. Small-town grocery stores rely on SNAP dollars. Rural hospitals lean on Medicaid funding. And when access dries up, it’s food banks and local nonprofits left trying to do the impossible.
In FY23, Medicaid brought more than $21 billion in federal funds into Illinois. Proposals to cut or cap this support would reduce care options for children, seniors, and people with disabilities, particularly outside metro areas.
Our Member Food Banks Are Already Taking Action
Member food banks like the Greater Chicago Food Depository and Eastern Illinois Foodbank have stepped up advocacy around SNAP and Medicaid in recent weeks.
At the national SNAP Matters Lobby Day, Food Equity Ambassadors from Chicago shared personal stories with lawmakers about what SNAP means in their communities. Advocates from Eastern Illinois are also calling on residents to speak up, offering SNAP enrollment assistance and clear guidance on how to take action.
This advocacy reflects a simple truth: no one should have to work full-time and still go hungry. And no community should have to fund essential food and healthcare programs alone.
What You Can Do Right Now
There is still time to protect SNAP and Medicaid, but your voice is needed now. Here’s how you can help:
Call or email your U.S. Representative and Senators
Visit your local food bank’s advocacy page to sign a petition or use a pre-filled contact form
Share your story if you or someone you know has been helped by SNAP
These programs are lifelines, not luxuries. They work best when they work together — community, state, and federal partners aligned in a shared goal: to ensure no one in Illinois goes hungry.
