Illinois launches new program to provide food benefits to people who
lost SNAP
[August 03, 2026]
By Ben Szalinski
A new state program took effect Saturday to provide food benefits to
people who have recently become ineligible because of federal changes to
the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The Families Receiving Emergency Support for Hunger, or FRESH, program
kicked off Aug. 1 after state lawmakers appropriated $70 million in the
fiscal year 2027 budget to establish a state food assistance program.
The initiative allows households that lost their SNAP benefits earlier
this year to receive a $400 one-time payment.
“At a time when the cost of groceries, gas, and utilities are all
rising, Donald Trump and Republicans decided to strip food assistance
from nearly 100,000 people,” Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement. “In
Illinois, we passed the FRESH program to help provide some relief for
families kicked off food assistance, but no state can backfill the cruel
and imminent cuts set in motion by Trump’s budget bill.”
About 150,000 Illinoisians were expected to lose food assistance
benefits beginning May 1 after new work requirements established by
Congress went into effect. About 1.5 million Illinoisians received SNAP
benefits in June, according to the Illinois Department of Human
Services. That includes 830,342 households. The number of beneficiaries
in June was down 134,734 people compared to April.
Eligible households are those that lost benefits because of the federal
changes and are automatically enrolled in the FRESH program. Recipients
will receive the one-time payment to their Illinois Link card to use on
food.
People who lose SNAP coverage in the coming months will also receive
payments until funding for the program runs out.
[to top of second column]
|
Fruits and vegetables are pictured at a County Market grocery store
in Springfield. The items are eligible for purchase under the
federal SNAP program. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew
Campbell)
Other financial impacts
The budget also included $55 million to hire 450 Department of Human
Services employees, including staff to update state systems to comply
with federal changes to SNAP and Medicaid eligibility.
Illinois, and most other states, are set to be on the hook for higher
costs in the coming years because of the changes Congress made.
Beginning in in October 2027, states will cover half of administrative
costs for the program and many states will begin covering a portion of
SNAP benefits. States with an error rate greater than 10% will have to
cover 15% of the cost of benefits starting in fiscal year 2029.
Illinois’ error rate was 14.7% in federal fiscal year 2025, according to
the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That was up from 11.6% the year
before.
Illinois will have another year to produce a lower error rate, giving
the state more time to rectify problems. As of now, the state could be
on the hook for $700 million in new SNAP costs by the end of 2028 if
nothing changes.
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government
coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily
by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. |
