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In response to the pause in SNAP benefits scheduled for Nov. 1 due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, Gov. JB Pritzker signed an order to designate $20 million in state funding for 2,600 food pantries across Illinois.
Today, Pritzker signed Executive Order 2025-08 to create a “statewide strategy to respond to the Trump Administration halting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding benefits for nearly 2 million Illinoisans beginning November 1, as well as the devastating impacts of the Trump spending bill that reduces food assistance,” read a press release from the Governor’s Office.
The moves come as the Donald Trump administration refuses to use $5 billion in contingency funds for the SNAP program, stating that the funds are for emergencies such as natural disasters. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) also deleted prior contingency plans from its website that stated the funds could be used during a government shutdown.
“The Trump Administration wants to let tens of millions of Americans go hungry, a failure in leadership and abdication of our responsibility as Americans to take care of each other,” Pritzker said in a statement. “Illinois families, kids, seniors, and people with disabilities will now go without food benefits because President Trump wants to use food assistance as a political bargaining chip. I am directing the state government to work together with food banks, local grocers, and other community organizations and help provide some relief to Illinoisans as the federal government tears apart decades-long food assistance support.”
Half of the funding for Pritzker’s executive order comes from the Budget Reserve for Immediate Disbursements and Governmental Emergencies (BRIDGE) with the other half from the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS).
In addition to the pause in benefits in November, SNAP recipients will also see requirements change for the program starting in December.
The executive order also includes statewide initiatives to address the forthcoming changes. Among the initiatives are listening sessions hosted by the IDHS and the Illinois Commission to End Hunger about how the upcoming SNAP changes will impact recipients; assessing the impact the changes will have to local grocers; and working to mitigate gaps with the elimination of the SNAP education funding, according to the governor’s press release.
SNAP benefits are fully funded by the federal government and with next month’s pause in food assistance, an estimated 41.7 million will experience a pause in their benefits; in Illinois, 1.9 million will be impacted, according to IDHS.
Illinois is one of 25 states suing the USDA for its plans to pause SNAP benefits.
