The Northern Illinois Food Bank is expected to feed more people this holiday season than in previous years, including the pandemic era, despite government assistance like SNAP being reinstated to help put food on the table.

The Food Bank services 13 counties across Illinois, operating in food pantries, soup kitchens, food programs, and more, said Katie Heraty, director of media relations. She said the organization has noted a 25% increase in need.

The Food Bank, in turn, faces a $3 to $4 million funding gap due to the surge in need this holiday season, likely impacted by delayed SNAP benefits and economic realities facing many residents.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has joined a coalition of 22 other attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to stop the federal government from what the coalition said is unlawfully cutting off SNAP benefits for thousands of lawful permanent residents, according to a statement from Raoul’s office.

“We’re serving over 600,000 neighbors a month and that is more than during the pandemic,” Heraty said. “So in order to serve more neighbors and get the food out, we need more food. We’ve purchased more food, we are reaching out to manufacturers, retailers, donors, asking people, ‘If you can give, now is the time.’”

The Food Bank, headquartered in Geneva, also has centers in Joliet, Lake Forest, and Rockford.

SNAP benefits are flowing again to low-income households after the longest government shutdown in American history. But food insecurity remains, and some SNAP users could face new work requirements in the future, The Associated Press reported.

Jennifer Fencl, 33, of Genoa, became a SNAP recipient nearly two years ago, when she was pregnant with her child. About a month ago, she got engaged and is moving to the Chicago area with her fiancé and 13-month-old.

“People are just trying to get by,” Fencl said. “I understand that there are people out there abusing it, but a lot of people aren’t abusing this. A lot of people need this support. I’ve worked my whole life, and I’ve never used government benefits. And I’ve had to once I got pregnant.”

She said fruits and vegetables are common grocery items for her daughter, and they eat plenty of pasta.

“I’m not going to lie, being a mom and working, sometimes I buy the quick things,” Fencl said. “We do go through a lot of milk. She does whole milk. We go through a lot of freaking milk. A lot of eggs, a lot of cheese I put in eggs. ... a lot of times she eats what I eat.”

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program provides monthly benefits — averaging around $190 per person — to about 42 million people nationwide. During the first couple of weeks of November, many of those recipients missed their regular allotments as President Donald Trump’s administration battled in court over whether to tap into reserves to fund the program while the government was shut down.

About 1.9 million Illinoisans are enrolled in SNAP this year, according to the Department of Human Services.

In its 26th year, the Food Bank’s holiday meal program expects to serve about 50,000 holiday meals to Illinoisans, Heraty said. That will include a box of holiday trimmings, rice, beans, stuffing, vegetables, canned fruit, and dessert and other side dishes, along with a turkey, ham, or turkey breast, she said.

“This is just a way to make sure our neighbors during the holidays, which is a time of year that can add added stress and expenses,” Heraty said, “But we want everyone to be able to enjoy a special meal with their loved ones.”

The Food Bank always welcomes volunteers, and accepts food, monetary, and other donations.

Those in need can also visit www.solvehungertoday.org to find a food pantry in their area, and get set up for grocery deliveries if transportation is a barrier. Grocery items can accommodate dietary restrictions, too. The website can help determine if one qualifies for SNAP and assist in applications. The Food Bank also has programs that help feed the elderly and schoolchildren year-round.

Heraty said in recent weeks – from SNAP uncertainty to government employees out of work due to the shutdown – food pantries have seen more new people seeking help to put food on he table.

“We don’t just provide food, we provide hope for our neighbors,” Heraty said.

SNAP stories

Zayden Rudd, of DeKalb, has used SNAP for a long time.

“I grew up on SNAP in a single-parent household,” Rudd said. “I’ve been on and off SNAP my entire life. But my most recent case I’ve had since about 2018.”

Rudd, who is self-employed and lives on his own, said he works on and off again as a professional tarot reader and has been declared to be legally disabled by the Social Security Administration since 2014.

“It’s just me, myself, and my cat, thankfully,” Rudd said. “I don’t think if I had dependents that we would be housed right now.”

Rudd said the cost of not being employed weighs on him.

“Being self-employed is very expensive, tax-wise,” Rudd said. “You have to pay for stuff to see.”

In a typical grocery shopping trip, Rudd will buy coffee, eggs, chicken, salmon, peas, broccoli, and oatmeal, all things he said he considers standards that he has to cook himself.

Rudd said he was diagnosed in 2014 or 2015 with celiac disease, a disease of the small intestine in which the body is hypersensitive to gluten intake.

“Things like pasta and things like bread are not cheap options for me to eat,” Rudd said. “Before that, I didn’t know why I couldn’t gain weight. I didn’t know why I was in so much pain all the time. And that’s because celiac will, if you’re eating gluten, it will deplete your body’s ability to digest nutrients and absorb calories, slowly wasting away without knowing it.”

The amount of SNAP benefits Rudd said he receives monthly varies.

“Because I’m self-employed, it changes month to month, unfortunately,” Rudd said. “The most I’ve received is $230 a month, which is pretty comfortable. Sometimes I don’t hit up the food bank when I get that much. The past few months, I’ve been getting between $160 and $190.”

Rudd said he does his best to prioritize how he spends SNAP benefits.

But he also utilizes other resources in the community, like food banks, as needed.

“I hit up the food banks at least twice a month, even with food stamps,” Rudd said. “I often use the food stamps to get the gluten-free stuff or fresh vegetables. Because even though they have fresh fruits and vegetables, some food banks it will be mixed in with stuff that is covered in mold. Without SNAP, it’s harder to get safe, fresh food.”

And despite SNAP payouts returning to residents in need after the government reopened, some food pantry organizers said locals still feel the financial strain.

“Every time they mess with SNAP our numbers go up,” said Kathy Wragg, director of the Polo Lifeline Food Pantry. “We’ve seen 30 or more families in the past two months. Most are new, younger families. Some haven’t used the pantry before or they haven’t come in for a very long time.”

Another barrier to food security? SNAP applications can be complex, and soon some may be required to reapply.

Rudd said he often has to set up in-person benefit application appointments. He said once when he first applied for benefits in Rockford, he had to wait days until they called his name.

“People will say it’s a full-time job trying to get benefits, and they’re not joking,” Rudd said.

That application process could soon change.

A massive tax and spending bill signed into law in July by Trump expanded requirements for many adult SNAP recipients to work, volunteer or participate in job training for at least 80 hours a month. Those who don’t are limited to three months of benefits in a three-year period.

The work requirements previously applied to adults ages 18 through 54 who are physically and mentally able and don’t have dependents. The new law also applies those requirements to those ages 55 through 64 and to parents without children younger than 14. It repeals work exemptions for homeless individuals, veterans and young adults aging out of foster care. And it limits the ability of states to waive work requirements in areas lacking jobs.

The Trump administration waived the work requirements in November, but the three-month clock on work-free SNAP benefits will be in full force for much of the country in December.

The new requirements are expected to reduce the average monthly number of SNAP recipients by about 2.4 million people over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Since Rudd is disabled, he is exempt from work requirements. But he said that doesn’t stop him from worrying about others.

“I’m concerned about working persons and for disabled persons who haven’t been able to receive legal recognition for various reasons,” Rudd said. “I’m concerned that, moving forward, we’re going to be caught in more constrictive binds that force people off of these resources. I’m also concerned that people will be too scared to change things.”

Rudd sought to dispel a misnomer that people who receive SNAP benefits do not work and are not lazy.

“A lot of people already have two jobs,” Rudd said. “They have kids to take care of. They have dependents with medical needs. ... And then, it also depends on how much I make on self-employment ... They make so much, they’ll cut you off. I’ve experienced times where I was gainfully employed wage-based, but I wasn’t able to maintain that because of my disabilities.”

Some, like Fencl, have relied on SNAP benefits to help build themselves back up.

She said she’s supposed to receive $173 from the government for SNAP but wasn’t getting that much during the shutdown. She’s frustrated by policies surrounding the assistance.

“If we’re supposed to work 20 hours to get the benefits, but as soon as we do, you cut them in half, how can someone survive off of 20 hours a week?” Fencl said.

She said that as a single mother, she stresses about balancing work and caring for her child.

“I’m sure everyone has needed help at some point,” Fencl said.

Fencl said her journey has led her to become sober, and government benefits have helped out.

“I’m a completely different person, and part of that is because of the help that I received,” she said. “I’m going to be enrolling in school. I want to be a medical assistant. ... You dig a grave for yourself when you’re doing certain things, and it helped me dig my way back out.”

Rudd said he also believes he could get by if he didn’t have SNAP benefits, but mostly because he’s had to struggle before.

“I hope my definition of getting by is not the same definition other people have of getting by,” Rudd said. “Because I know I’ll get by because I’ve survived worse. I’ve lived on less than $10 a week on food.”

And for those who’ve never used a food pantry or applied for government assistance?

“We are here to help,” Heraty said. “We are here to feed our neighbors. We want people to reach out if they need groceries.

The Associated Press and Shaw Local correspondent Earleen Hinton contributed.