Organizations like the Greater Chicago Food Depository are working to ensure Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients understand the updated work requirements that took effect Feb. 1.

“SNAP is our nation’s frontline defense against hunger,” said Camerin Mattson, GCFD‘s communications manager. “It’s been widely successful in helping hundreds of thousands of families across Illinois stave off food insecurity and hunger.”

According to Mattson, for every meal GCFD and its partner food pantries provide, SNAP provides nine to Illinois residents.

The new requirements passed in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July reclassified veterans, adults ages 55 to 64, homeless individuals and adults with at-home children ages 14 or older as “able-bodied adults without dependents.” This classification now mandates they work or volunteer 80 hours per month to qualify for SNAP benefits.

Mattson said the community engagement efforts are working. The Illinois Department of Human Services estimated in August that 340,000 SNAP participants in the state could lose benefits. Mattson said this estimate has since declined.

SNAP beneficiaries receive one warning per month for three months before being removed from the program for failing to meet work requirements, making May the earliest possible date participants could lose benefits.

The federal government shutdown last fall also froze SNAP benefits for millions of Illinois recipients for about three weeks.

Mattson said anytime there are changes to a policy like SNAP, it can be confusing for recipients to understand their impact on them. She added that GCFD’s main focus right now is making sure people know what’s changing and where to find help.

The organization launched saveoursnap.org, a website which provides resources, including links to exemption forms and a quiz to ensure people are meeting work requirements. GCFD is also sending members from their benefit enrollment and policy team to community events to present information and answer questions about the changes in person.

“I can only imagine how tricky this is for people who depend on SNAP benefits to make sure that their family, their children, have enough food.” Mattson said. “We really feel for those neighbors and are doing everything we can to help them.”

Much of GCFD’s work consists of “plugging into” existing meetings such as church gatherings and advocacy events and tailoring their messaging, explained Tyler Stratton, director of community asset building at GCFD.

“We are doing a lot to meet people where they are, to make sure that they get access to the information and understand what’s happening, why it’s happening and where they can go for additional support and resources,” Stratton said.

The most common questions Stratton receives focus on what food resources are available if someone loses benefits, how to find work opportunities to maintain eligibility and what the changes mean for immigrant communities.

“Our overall goal is to have a community-centered response as we are working to build awareness about the changes to SNAP,” Stratton said. “Simultaneously, we want to create a space where we can connect partners and neighbors with resources and action steps that they can take as well.”

Liam Ford, executive director of Ignatian Mission Center, a Rogers Park food pantry and GCFD partner, said the Center has served more than 250 families in the last two weeks. He noted it increased from an average of 210 families, though he attributed the rise largely to general need rather than SNAP changes.

He said the GCFD has kept his team informed and stocked with flyers to share with clients.

Mattson said it’s too early to gauge any impact, as recipients who are no longer eligible will not begin to lose their SNAP benefits until May.

“What we tend to see is when people have a source of income or a source of food cut off, it’s usually a couple weeks before we start to see them,” Ford said.

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