MACOMB (WGEM) – As lawmakers consider a proposal to reduce SNAP food benefits, Illinois Congressman (D) Eric Sorensen visited a local food pantry to get a grasp on the level of food insecurity in western Illinois.

The mid-May proposal would cut more than $290 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps over 42 million people nationwide purchase fresh produce and other groceries, according to the Agriculture Department.

”We need to make sure that we’re not letting people fall through the cracks any more,” Rep. Sorensen said to the media on Friday afternoon. “We have to decide, what are our American values. I am so proud to be an American, but I am so proud to make sure that we’re standing up for our neighbors, not to give a hand out, but to give a hand up.”

In Sorensen’s visit, he toured Western Illinois Regional Council with a focus on the grocery-style food pantry on the east side of the building. WIRC officials said over 2,000 people utilized the pantry in 2024. Sorensen fears that cuts to food programs would increase that number.

”The majority party said, alright, well kids can get food when they’re at school, so they shouldn’t get the SNAP benefits,” Sorensen said. “My question is, well what are these kids supposed to do on a weekend? What are these kids supposed to do when they’re on summer break? Are they supposed to go hungry?”

Eligibility for the public-benefits program, which used to be referred to as food stamps, is based on participants’ income and household size, among other factors.

The reform would require that states shoulder a portion of the costs.

According to a statement from the House Committee on Agriculture, SNAP rolls have increased by 17 percent since 2019, from 36 million in 2019 to 42 million today.

Alice Haskins, a mother of two children, is a volunteer is at The Good Food Pantry.

Before becoming a volunteer, she said she utilized the pantry for half a year as she dealt with food insecurity. When she separated from her partner, she said she was left without another support person for her family. She quit her job to take care of her kids and went back to school to study social work.

“It really opened my eyes on the biased against income levels,” Haskins said. “When I worked, I thought people didn’t need the help that I received because they had the income they needed. In all honesty, you don’t. You don’t have the income you need, even if you have resources they run out.”

Haskins believes food program cuts will results in more people coming to WIRC for help.

“We need it. People need it. Even with the food stamps that I currently get to help feed my children, I run out of food every month. We’re covering it with the money that’s left over from our bills,” she said.

Sorensen said he’s visited about half a dozen food pantries and food banks in his district.

In addition to cutting funds, the proposal includes stricter work requirements for SNAP participants.

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