With the federal government shutdown over, Illinois officials said people who rely on food stamps will begin receiving their full SNAP benefits for November within the next week, and those payments couldn’t come sooner for families who previously received only partial payments.
Michelle Green usually receives $464 in SNAP benefits on the 9th of every month, but this month she received only $78.
Green volunteers at the Breakthrough Urban Ministries Fresh Market food pantry in East Garfield Park. The college student and single mother to her 4-year-old special needs son, Amir, is also a SNAP recipient.
On Nov. 9, she received two deposits to buy food in her SNAP account’ one for $12, the other for $66. That’s $378.00 less than she gets every month.
“I was just like, ‘Oh my God, like, who is this gonna feed?’ I was just, like, thinking, like, ‘Oh my God, this is overwhelming, like, what is I’m gonna do?'” she said.
Green is among the nearly 2 million in Illinois who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, impacted by the government shutdown.
The Illinois Department of Human Services, which administers SNAP benefits in Illinois, said Thursday that it is working to restore full SNAP benefits as quickly as possible now that the shutdown is over. The legislation funding the federal government funds SNAP through September 2026, including full benefits for November, when most states were only able to issue partial payments.
“We anticipate that the remaining benefit payments will be made over several days, starting tomorrow. We expect all SNAP recipients will receive their full November benefits by November 20th,” an Illinois Department of Human Services spokesperson said in a statement.
Green said, until the rest of her SNAP benefits are deposited in her account, she’s budgeting the $78 she received so far, and visiting the food pantry where she volunteers to make ends meet.
