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On Thursday, October 30th, Governor Pritzker signed an executive order that is designed to help fund food banks and organizations during the shut down.
According to the Chicago Sun Times:
Thursday’s executive order will direct the state to work with food banks and food pantries, grocers, universities and other community organizations to try to mitigate cuts. The Illinois Department of Human Services announced Thursday it received notice from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that the federal agency would not fund November benefits for SNAP across the country starting Nov. 1 unless there’s a resolution to the shutdown. For Illinois, that would mean a loss of $350 million the state administers to recipients.
The state’s BRIDGE reserve fund has about $100 million in it and was created to fill short-term needs in response to Trump administration actions.
The executive order also directs a statewide response, including listening sessions to hear how SNAP changes are affecting Illinoisans; a statewide study to be conducted on food insecurity; and a partnership with the Illinois Retail Merchants Association to survey grocers to assess the impact of federal changes to the program and identify emerging food deserts.
Our office will continue to provide more information and details about this Executive Order as we receive it.
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