Dawn uses the food pantry at Outreach House in Lombard to feed her four children and also depends on SNAP benefits, which pay for a week’s worth of groceries, to put meals on the table.

“If she loses that one week, how could she cover the gap?” Outreach House Executive Director Catherine Lynott asked at a Wednesday roundtable organized by U.S. Rep. Sean Casten.

Social service leaders from Cook and DuPage counties warned of “more people” and “less food” if Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments are halted in November as a result of the government shutdown.

“The White House announced this week that if the government is still shut down Nov. 1, they are going to block all food assistance. It is deeply evil, what they are threatening,” Downers Grove Democrat Casten said.

If SNAP (formerly food stamps) benefits are suspended, “we’re going to see 78,000 people, roughly, lose benefits right away,” Northern Illinois Food Bank Chief Philanthropy Officer Colleen Ahearn said.

“For every meal that we provide, SNAP provides nine. So we’re just simply not at the scale of SNAP,” Robert Desio, a NIFB senior manager, added. “As a network, we are stretched.”

And “while we are optimistic by nature,” Desio said, “the worst-case (scenario) is less food for more people.”

Illinois administers more than $350 million in SNAP funds each month that reach 1.9 million recipients. Average monthly benefits are $370, the Illinois Department of Human Services reported.

Dawn, whose last name was kept confidential, is a stay-at-home mom with a husband who works full-time. Outreach House clients cover a wide range of demographics, advocates explained during the forum at the DuPage Senior Citizens Council offices in Lombard.

At the Wheaton-based People’s Resource Center’s food pantry, “We’re seeing more seniors; we’re seeing more families,” CEO Jenifer Fabian said. “People are stressed and are starting to panic about what’s going to happen. And, those are just the folks that are aware of the change.”

The PRC served 3,000 clients last month and more than 1,000 received SNAP aid. Making those clients whole in November would use one-third of the agency’s entire food budget, Fabian noted.

About 45% of households receiving SNAP benefits have children who will suffer if the program is suspended, according to the IDHS.

“In schools, we can feed kids the breakfast, the lunch; we’re not able to provide dinner as well,” said newly appointed state Rep. Margaret DeLaRosa, who is Glenbard District 87’s board president.

The crunch comes amid thousands of government employees not being paid. One recent prospective client at York Township’s food pantry was a furloughed federal worker, Supervisor Tim Murray said.

The York pantry has experienced a 70% increase in clients. “I think the word has gotten out SNAP is going to go away,” Murray said.

To meet the anticipated surge in demand, food pantry leaders said they welcome not only donations but also volunteers.

The shutdown started Oct. 1 and Congress remains at an impasse. Democrats are seeking concessions on extending health care benefits and Republicans are pushing to reopen the government first.

The White House issued a statement Wednesday saying “the Democrat shutdown isn’t about an honest policy dispute.”

“More than a million federal employees aren’t getting paid, Americans are facing excruciating delays at airports, food stamp funding is drying up, small businesses are teetering on collapse, and tourists are shut out of their nation’s Capitol,” officials said.

DeLaRosa commented that “here we have an administration that’s building a ballroom and 45% of the people that receive SNAP benefits are children,” referring to President Donald Trump’s controversial White House renovation.

Casten said Republicans are refusing to negotiate. “I hope it ends when either [Senate Majority Leader John] Thune or [Speaker Mike] Johnson or Trump recognize that there’s nothing good about a shutdown and they need to get back to focusing on real things that matter.”