Work requirements impacting SNAP eligibility takes effect, worrying Illinois recipients, food banks
A major change impacting SNAP eligibility has now taken effect.
The emergency is real. Previously, Illinois had a waiver of work requirements for what the law defines as able-bodied adults applying for SNAP benefits.
As of Sunday, that has disappeared, threatening the ability of hundreds of thousands of people across the state to put food on the table.
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Walking into the newly opened food pantry inside the Legler Regional Public Library in West Garfield Park on Sunday, SNAP recipient Vickie Seats worries about her and her husband’s food stamps.
“We need SNAP,” Seats said. “SNAP helps us eat.”
Although she says both qualify for exemptions from the newly enacted work requirements, her husband’s recent disability has not yet been certified.
“He’s now suffering from a mental illness, which is just coming to light, and we’re trying to get documents now,” Seats said. “They tell you it’s not going to last 30 days. It could be 90 days. It could be 120 days. It’s nothing fast, but we have to eat every day.”
As part of last year’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” under the new law, “SNAP recipients ages 18 to 64 and parents without children under 14 will now have to prove they work or volunteer a total of 80 hours per month in order to keep their benefits.” »
“Every month that you don’t meet these work requirements, that’s a strike against you. And three strikes and you lose SNAP over a three-year period,” said Camerin Mattson of the Greater Chicago Food Depository.
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Previously, under federal law, only adults ages 18 to 54 without dependents under the age of 18 had to meet these requirements. But because Illinois had a waiver, no one had to do that.
Authorities say up to 340,000 people are at risk. Therefore, all individuals currently enrolled in SNAP are asked to be sure to register with the Illinois Department of Human Services, to see if they qualify for an exemption, and if not, to ensure their employment information is up to date.
“It’s either working, volunteering or participating in a qualifying training program,” Mattson said. “If you would like to meet these requirements by volunteering, let them know. This is not something SNAP participants have had to report in the past.”
And while food banks like the one at the Legler Library help, Matteson says they’re simply not designed to fill such a big gap.
“SNAP is our nation’s front-line defense against hunger,” Mattson said. “For every meal we offer, SNAP offers nine.”
No one has lost their benefits since Sunday. But anyone who receives SNAP and does not receive an exemption or meet the requirements by May 1 will.
This is why it is very important that, if they have not already done so, beneficiaries ensure that their information is up to date as quickly as possible.
