Casten, officials talk about food insecurity
The rising cost of groceries and changes to food assistance programs are bringing more families to food pantries, an issue at the heart of a recent discussion hosted by U.S. Rep. Sean Casten (D-6th).
On Aug. 19, Casten convened a roundtable discussion at the Lyons Township Office in Countryside that included representatives from 19th Ward Mutual Aid, Northern Illinois Food Bank, St. Cletus Social Concerns Ministry, Elmhurst Walk-In Assistance Network, Food Research and Action Center, The Outreach House, Pathlights and Elmhurst-Yorkfield Food Pantry.
Tim Noonan, a Beverly resident who founded 19th Ward Mutual Aid in 2020, said the conversation highlighted that food insecurity is not limited to one area.
“It’s a problem across the board,” Noonan said. “We’re seeing a lot of new faces. A lot of people who never thought they would ever go to a pantry are now attending.”
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index, food prices were 3 percent higher in July 2026 than they were in the previous year.
Changes to work requirements and eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) have added another pressure point for families relying on food assistance.
Under the Trump Administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), work requirements were expanded to include persons up to age 64, people experiencing homelessness and veterans.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research and policy institute, estimated that SNAP participation has fallen by more than 4.5 million people nationwide since OBBBA was enacted in July 2025.
Casten said food pantry workers are seeing firsthand the effects of those changes.
“If food prices are going up and food support is going down, you end up with vastly more need,” Casten said. “That all falls on the back of food pantries.”
Attendees said they are seeing more people who have recently become unhoused, as well as undocumented individuals who are not eligible for SNAP.
“They were telling these stories about people who have suddenly lost their house, can’t afford to pay rent anymore and are living temporarily in a motel,” Casten said. “The only thing they have to prepare food is a microwave.”
Under current SNAP regulations, recipients cannot use their benefits to purchase hot foods. The Hot Rotisserie Chicken Act, which passed in the House of Representatives and is awaiting further action in the Senate, would allow recipients to purchase hot rotisserie chickens.
The discussion also focused heavily on the stigma attached to visiting a food pantry. Those in attendance said they regularly hear people express feelings of inadequacy in asking for assistance.
Casten stressed that people should view pantries as a valuable resource, rather than a place to be ashamed of needing.
“That’s part of the system that exists, that your neighbors are out there serving you,” Casten said. “There’s something very beautiful about being in a food pantry and realizing how many people are looking at what’s happening in our society and deciding to do what they can in their own way to help out a little bit.”
Casten also opened the conversation to potential legislative changes that could help address some of the issues he raised.
One proposal involved changing the way SNAP eligibility is structured so that people do not become ineligible once a household crosses a certain income threshold. For example, the maximum gross monthly income for a one-person household to qualify for SNAP in Illinois is $2,152.
“It creates these horrible incentives where your boss offers you the opportunity to take an extra shift at work, but if that extra shift is going to suddenly put you $50 above the threshold, then you have an economic disincentive,” Casten said. “You could imagine ways to structure it that still meet the intent of the program but don’t put people in these horrible choices.”
As the demand for food assistance grows, Noonan said, the pantries serving people in need are facing a difficult task in providing help to all of them.
“A lot of organizations are trying to step up to be able to handle that influx,” Noonan said. “We could do our best and try to help navigate stuff, but really the challenge is that a lot of people on the margins are getting squeezed out.”
By: Erin Gessert