Chicago Tribune Reports: Chicago SNAP beneficiaries find allies in community, including City Colleges

As Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits run dry, some Chicago families have struggled to put food on the table — but communities, schools and businesses have risen to the challenge, stepping up in the face of uncertainty to help their neighbors.

Grocery stores and restaurants have distributed free food to those in need. Schools are organizing emergency food drives. And the city’s robust network of social services, nonprofits and churches have expanded their ongoing operations to meet increased demand from people at every stage of life.

Read the full story in the Chicago Tribune

At City Colleges of Chicago, each of its seven main campuses offers a free market for students to pick up groceries and other necessities — a service that, for some, has become a lifeline amid the government shutdown.

At City Colleges of Chicago, each of its seven main campuses offers a free market for students to pick up groceries and other necessities — a service that, for some, has become a lifeline amid the government shutdown.

On a recent afternoon, Mo’hogney Mitchell, 20, walked down the aisles of Kennedy-King College’s campus food pantry in Englewood. Many of the shelves were already picked through. “I usually get the milk, eggs, and the instant rice,” Mitchell said.

She stacked her cart high with frozen meals, sweet potatoes and other produce.

Mitchell, the college’s student body president, relies on SNAP benefits to put food on the table for her grandmother. When, on Nov. 1, she saw that no benefits had been loaded onto her Link card. Her heart sank.

“Right now, food in my house is barely there,” she said. “My grandma, she’s the type to make something out of nothing. But when you have nothing, like really nothing at all, it’s really hard.”

Mitchell is one of the hundreds of students who rely on the college’s Health Student Market. On food delivery day, the line for the pantry snakes down the halls, according to Destinee Miguest, the director of student basic needs and wellness. The need has only been exacerbated amid the government shutdown.

“It’s an uptick, for sure,” Miguest said. “Food insecurity with college students is real.”

City Colleges is actively fundraising and growing its partnership with the Greater Chicago Food Depository to provide increased services, including expanded food markets and improved access to public benefits  — including guidance for students navigating cuts or restrictions to those services. Currently, students are able to visit Kennedy-King’s market weekly.