WESTERN ILLINOIS – In the face of the federal administration pausing food assistance for thousands of Western Illinoisans, including children, State Senator Mike Halpin visited local food pantries in Rock Island, Galesburg and Monmouth to see firsthand the impact of SNAP being paused.

“Our local food pantries are working as hard as they can to get food to local folks who need it the most,” said Halpin (D-Rock Island). “SNAP food assistance is critical for thousands of families with children to keep food on the table, the loss of these benefits puts these families and their children at risk. We must work together as a community to support our food pantries and ensure vulnerable folks are getting enough healthy food to eat.”

Senator Halpin visited Fish of Galesburg, Jamieson Community Center and River Bend Food Bank of Rock Island on Monday to donate and hear from these food pantries about their urgent need on the ground. They spoke about which donations they need more of, the surge of need due to the SNAP funding uncertainty and local picture around food access.

“This time we need to get the word out,” said Nancy Mowen, Jamieson Community Center executive director. “The situation is critical. Help your local pantries.”

“Here at FISH, we are experiencing high volumes of guests coming to us for groceries,” said Katherine Seguino, Fish of Galesburg executive director. “Just yesterday we served 98 households consisting of 269 individuals. We are quickly running through our food reserves and will need to order more soon and adjust for the increased clientele.”

“Right now, River Bend Food Bank is seeing unprecedented demand across our 23-county service area,” said Chris Ford, President & CEO of River Bend Food Bank. “The government shutdown is making it harder for families to put meals on the table – and harder for us to supply the needed food to our hunger relief partners. We’re doing everything we can to meet the need, but the pressure is real and growing.  Community support and volunteer efforts are more critical than ever.”

Senator Halpin remains committed to supporting Western Illinois food banks. You can find a full list of 36^th District food pantries here.