Northern Illinois Food Bank frets over Trump food aid cuts

Proposed Trump administration cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that provides food-buying assistance for low-income people, has officials at the Northern Illinois Food Bank in Geneva concerned.

“The SNAP cuts are going to be a big deal,” said Robert Desio, advocacy benefit manager for the Northern Illinois Food Bank. “Food insecurity is on the rise. We are serving more neighbors than ever. We are averaging over 570,000 visits per month throughout our network, even more than any other time.”

The Northern Illinois Food Bank operates in 13 counties, including DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, Ogle and Will counties. It operates food distribution centers in four locations, including Geneva and Joliet, as well as provides food to local food pantries.

The food bank also assists people in applying for SNAP, which previously were known as food stamps. These food assistance benefits are the front line for people with food insecurity.

“SNAP benefit amounts have always been paid 100% by the [federal] government,” Desio said. “This is part of Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ instituting cost-sharing with the states, and every state at least would pay 5% of benefits.”

Kane County Republican Chairman Andro Lerario said he might not agree with everything in Trump’s bill, but the system needs to be fixed.

“You’ve got problems in the system, you’ve got to fix problems in that system,” Lerario said. “Do you punish the person who really needs it because you put a system in place that is flawed? Let it flow while you’re making corrections within that system. ... Fix it as you go along with it.”

For him, the issue is waste, fraud and people taking advantage of the system.

“We have to be able to do that. We can’t go after the real need. There’s always going to be people who need that help,” Lerario said. “We have to be decent enough as people, no matter what party or affiliation.”

To understand the impact of the changes requires going into the weeds for those not familiar with how food benefits work, but the details are important.

The percentage states pay would go up based on what is called a payment error rate, or human errors in providing services, Desio said. The higher the payment error rate, the more states would pay under Trump’s bill.

“If there is an error rate between 6% and 8%, then states would have to pay 15% of SNAP amounts. If it’s between 8% and 10%, states would have to pay 20%. Over 10%, the state has to pay 25%,” Desio said. “If the 5% were in place right now, it would cost Illinois $222 million a year. In fiscal year 2023, the error rate was 9.91%. ... We would have been in that 20% cost-sharing, would have paid $880 million. You can see how untenable this will be for the states.”

Food and Nutrition Services, which is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, already has a program in place to deal with the error rate, he said.

“If a state has several years of a high error rate, Food and Nutrition Services has a program that charges the state some financial penalty,” Desio said. “The state has the option of investing half that in mitigation methods. If it is successful, they get the other half back. The program incentivizes the states to police themselves.”

The “Big Beautiful Bill” also is going to inflate the error rates, he said.

The program allows up to $57 per error as a grace amount, so it is not counted as part of the error rate.

The new bill reduces the grace amount to zero.

“It is impossible to say how much this will affect the states,” Desio said.

Another crushing aspect is a proposed increase in the state’s share of the administration cost, he said. Currently, the states and federal government share that cost at 50%.

“Now, it will be 75%,” Desio said. “Based on fiscal year 2023, that will cost Illinois an additional $83 million.”

The bill would put Illinois at an increased cost of almost $1 billion, based on fiscal 2023, Desio said.

The new bill also changes work requirements – which SNAP already has – for able-bodied adults without dependents.

Illinois is under a waiver because its unemployment rate is high, at 4.8%, with 322,000 people out of work. The bill would decrease the age of dependents to children who are 7 or younger under the able-bodied adult category, down from the current age of 18 or younger.

So able-bodied adults with young children no longer would be exempt from work requirements of 20 hours a week or 80 hours a month, with the rationale that children are in school – disregarding the fact that children are not in school year-round, Desio said.

“It’s particularly punitive against single mothers,” Desio said. “As long as it’s one of a married couple with kids, in theory, the husband can satisfy the work requirement.”

The bill also raises the work requirement age to 65 from 55.

Desio suggested that people reach out to their representatives if they oppose cuts to SNAP and the new requirements, as the House and Senate ultimately have to vote and agree on the bill.

“That’s what our lobbying is right now, centering around SNAP. That’s what’s being talked about in reconciliation,” Desio said. “It might be a long shot, but we hope.”

In the meantime, donations to the food bank would help.

“We definitely would love people to volunteer and donate and buy more food to cover the increase in demand,” Desio said. “And we would love donations. That would help a lot. Every dollar donated provides $8 worth of groceries.”