CENTRAL ILLINOIS (WCIA) — In a significant development on Friday, two federal judges determined that the Trump administration must continue funding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), contradicting the administration’s intentions to suspend benefits starting November 1st. This legal back-and-forth, ongoing since October 1st, has left residents of Central Illinois exploring alternative ways to access necessary resources.
Individuals anticipating food assistance this Sunday might still face service delays. In response, local businesses and organizations have stepped up, offering guidance on how people can obtain essential resources, including information on nearby food pantries and meal sites.
Looking to the community for support, Schnucks Markets announced on Thursday a food drive initiative running until November 11 at all of their 113 locations. This effort aims to counteract the effects of the SNAP benefit interruption during the government shutdown. Community members are encouraged to donate non-perishable food items during their shopping trips at Schnucks to aid local food banks and pantries meeting increasing demands.
Shoppers can contribute by purchasing items and placing them in the designated donation bins at each store. The most in-demand donations include non-perishable goods such as:
Light tuna or salmon (canned or packaged)
Canned chicken or meat
Soup, chili or stews with meat & beans
Canned fruit
Diced tomatoes/tomato paste
Canned spaghetti sauces
Canned Beans
Instant brown rice
Whole wheat pasta
Boxed meal kits
Canned vegetables
Dried spices: chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, basil
Deodorant/toothbrushes/toothpaste
“This food drive is an extension of our company’s mission to nourish people’s lives as well as our community pillar to fight hunger and food insecurity in the communities we serve,” said Schnucks Executive Vice President of Supermarkets Ted Schnuck. “Each day, our store teams partner with food pantries in their respective neighborhoods, giving products that total more than $15 million of in-kind donations annually.”
Schnucks will also continue to work with community partners like United Way, Urbana League and The Salvation Army to help get food to those in need.
Eastern Illinois Foodbank
The Eastern Illinois Foodbank has an interactive map on its website where people can enter their location and find out what food pantries and soup kitchens are in the area. Users can see things such as the hours, addresses and distance from current location of these resource centers.
They have also posted their Foodmobile schedule, including dates, times and locations, which are all subject to change. The EIF Foodmobile visits each of its 21 counties at different frequencies, based on factors such as local food insecurity rates and access to local food sources.
The Central Illinois Foodmobile stops include:
McLean County – sponsored by State Farm
Monday, Oct. 27 | 10:15 – 11:15am
Christ Community Church (406 W. 7th St.), Gridley Monday, Oct. 27 | 12:45 – 1:45pm
Allin Township Library (116 W. Main St.), Stanford
Vermilion County – sponsored by State Farm
Tuesday, Oct. 28 | 9:30 – 10:30am
Christman Park (near basketball courts), Rossville Tuesday, Oct. 28 | 11:30am – 1:30pm
Ward Park (Pilot St.), Ridge Farm
DeWitt County
Tuesday, Nov. 4 | 10 – 11am
Waynesville Christian Church (105 S. 4th St.), Waynesville
Coles County – sponsored by State Farm
Wednesday, Nov. 12 | 8:45 – 9:45am
Fire department (400 Commercial St.), Humboldt Wednesday, Nov. 12 | 10:15 – 11:15am
Main St. & 5th St., Lerna
Douglas County
Thursday, Nov. 13 | 9:30 – 10:30am
Opal Thompson Park, Camargo
Moultrie County
Monday, Nov. 17 | 10 – 11am
Scott State Bank (101 W. Main St.), Bethany
Edgar County
Tuesday, Nov. 18 | 11am – 12pm
Russell Grafton Park (4th St.), Hume
Iroquois County
Thursday, Nov. 20 | 1:30 – 2:30pm
Parking lot across from post office (West Ave.), Milford
McLean County – sponsored by Jewel
Monday, Nov. 24 | 10:15 – 11:15am
Christ Community Church (406 W. 7th St.), Gridley Monday, Nov. 24 | 12:45 – 1:45pm
Allin Township Library (116 W. Main St.), Stanford
Vermilion County
Tuesday, Nov. 25 | 9:30 – 10:30am
Christman Park (near basketball courts), Rossville Tuesday, Nov. 25 | 11:30am – 1:30pm
Ward Park (Pilot St.), Ridge Farm
Champaign County Food Resources
Champaign County residents can view a comprehensive list of food pantries in the area. This includes food pantries, hot and sack meals only, little free pantries, mobile food pantries and University of Illinois resources.
Macon County Food Resources
The Decatur Public Library posted a list of food pantries and soup kitchens on its website. This includes the following resources:
Catholic Charities
Good Samaritan Inn
Helping Hands
Meals on Wheels
Mt. Zion United Methodist Food Pantry
New Vision Church
Northeast Community Fund
Salvation Army
Curbside and Delivery Restaurants
They also have a link to a food finder map which allows households seeking support to search specific areas for the nearest grocery stores, food retailers, farmers markets and roadside farm stands that accept SNAP (LINK), WIC or senior food benefits.
Vermilion County Food Resources
OSF Healthcare has an interactive map and satellite showing people all of the food and nutrition resource locations around Central Illinois, mostly in Vermilion County. This includes but is not limited to the Hoopeston Multi-Agency Emergency Food Pantry, OSF Community Resource Center and Ridgeview Baptist Church.
Urbana School District #116
The Urbana School District #116 announced it will continue giving free breakfast and lunch to its students every school day, regardless of the federal government shutdown. They said during this shutdown, there are a number of local resources still available.
The district said that students at Urbana High School and Urbana Adult Education have access to Tiger Market, which provides food and personal care products.
Those who need to find additional food resources can visit the U of I Extension, which offers a helpful Find Food IL Map. Users can enter their zip code to locate nearby food pantries and meal sites. The information on the map is available in English, Spanish and French.
The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District also has a list of food pantries and meal assistance on its website.
Coles County Food Resources
On their Facebook page, The Salvation Army of Mattoon posted a consolidated list of all food pantries and resources across Coles County. This includes but is not limited to the Wesley United Methodist Church in Charleston, U of I Extension Snap-ED in Shelbyville and the Fellowship Center in Mattoon.
The Salvation Army said if your organization is not listed to reach out to Envoy Cari Shepherd at cari.shepherd@usc.salvationarmy.org. The said they will continue to update the list at a minimum of weekly.
Did we miss a Central Illinois organization or business offering support at this time? Let us know by sending us an email at news@wcia.com !
