Francisco Avila and Olivia Lerma, Blue Island residents with five children, said that since losing access to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program due to the federal government shutdown, they are faced with choosing between paying for rent or paying to have food on the table.
The couple, married for 27 years, said when they first moved to Illinois 24 years ago they lived out of their car. Now they have been residents of a tight-knit, mobile home community in Blue Island for nearly three years. They attended a free taco event Tuesday, saying the loss of SNAP benefits hit home.
Avila said his family began relying on SNAP benefits last year when he was no longer able to provide income for the family. He said he worked as a mechanic until he lost several toes and began to tire easily due to medical issues, which made it hard for him to work.
His wife, Lerma, said she works at a nearby McDonald’s and the little she makes goes to rent. When they ran out of funds for groceries with the loss of SNAP benefits, they turned to their 25-year-old son, who buys their groceries in exchange for a half payment in return.
Lerma said food pantry donations and help from her older sons, ages 25 and 27, are the reason her family still has food on the table. She said rent payments “do not wait,” even when she unexpectantly she cannot pay for food.
Other advocates and food pantry directors in the south and southwest suburbs said they have heard similar stories since the loss of SNAP benefits.
Arcelia Gonzales, a Chicago Heights resident who has helped deliver resources to residents in recent weeks, said she had to deliver several sleeping bags to a family in Harvey Sunday night because they lost heat in their home.
The family, she said, was unable to pay their electricity or gas bills because they lost their SNAP benefits at the end of October, along with their jobs as vendors at Swap-O-Rama about six weeks ago after federal agents raided the flea market.
Gonzales said last week a lot of communities are especially vulnerable to both fears of reported federal officers and the loss of SNAP benefits, while also grappling with food deserts.
Gonzales said more than 100 people attended a food pantry put together by network of community advocates and businesses Saturday at the Hope Center. The community network is hosting another pantry on Nov. 15 at the Hope Center, 2252 135th St., Blue Island.
Tony Roman, manager of the food pantry for nonprofit Together We Cope in Tinley Park, said Tuesday people tell him losing SNAP benefits forced them to choose between paying medical and electricity bills or buying food for their children.
“People tell me a lot that they have never been to a pantry or had to choose between paying bills,” Roman said.
About a fifth of the people coming to the pantry in the past two weeks, he said, have never been to the pantry before. Many have also turned to the customer service end of the nonprofit, which helps people pay bills and find resources outside of food, which he said has become extremely busy.
He said several people told him they feel ashamed or embarrassed because they have never had to rely on help to this extent.
But Roman said the pantry is there not only for people without food, but also for those who need a little help and are “just barely struggling to keep their heads above water.”
Roman also said pantry attendance numbers skyrocketed in recent weeks. The pantry normally serves about 70 people a week, but that number increased to 90 people a week after SNAP benefits were lost, then 120 people the following week, he said.
This increase in attendance has meant the pantry must give people smaller bags of beans or smaller cartons of milk and eggs, he said. They try and prioritize senior citizens or people with families.
The pantry at Together We Cope is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Thursday at 17010 Oak Park Ave., Tinley Park.
awright@chicagotribune.com
