It’s been several years since my wife and I anxiously analyzed the free and reduced school meal application paperwork, but we haven’t forgotten the days of waiting for the next paycheck to drop so the debit card would work on the next grocery trip, or the relief of finding a second job with the same dress code as the first to cut down on both expenses and the time needed between shifts.

Those memories are useful when, as today, writing about food insecurity and working the calculator from a place of considerable comfort. The topic seemed essential given the very real likelihood an ongoing federal shutdown means 1.9 million Illinoisans are about to stop getting $350 million in monthly food assistance, an issue I discussed recently but without factoring in another looming change: the Jan. 1 evaporation of the 1% statewide sales tax on groceries.

The confluence reverberated in an Oct. 24 piece from Peoria’s WMBD-TV explaining how roughly half of the state’s cities have voted to continue imposing the tax locally. The state never kept any of the money, so municipalities that don’t localize the tax will lose revenue and those opting in are preserving, not increasing.

Taxpayers Federation of Illinois President Maurice Scholten addressed whether the grocery tax is regressive, as the Democrats who ended it argued:

“The really low end of the spectrum, at lower income, they receive SNAP benefits, so they are able to buy at least some amount of groceries without having to pay any sales tax,” Scholten told Cameron Maine. “On the higher end, they generally spend more on groceries, but they also spend more, get more of their food from restaurants and dining out. So, it depends on what you look at.”

When the state suspended the grocery tax statewide for fiscal 2022, it eventually refunded $252 million to local governments. Figuring about 12.5 million Illinoisans, it worked out to $20.16 per person, or 39 cents per week.

That’s such a small figure as to be almost useless politically. Clearly $20 is significant to someone counting every penny, but as a yearly figure it won’t sway anyone’s vote. The loss of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits is a different story, with an average of about $184 per beneficiary each month. And for people about to head to the market without a SNAP card, the combination of unknowns will only enhance insecurity.

Grocery wholesalers and retailers probably aren’t thrilled about a SNAP suspension affecting established consumer patterns and any business relying on holiday season sales to carry the year’s bottom line should be concerned.

Food markets are an important part of any community’s economic base. It’s shortsighted to think these looming changes have narrow implications.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.