'We Run Out Of Food Some Days': Tinley Agency, Food Pantry Feels Strain Of Shutdown, SNAP Uncertainty

TINLEY PARK, IL — A vital Tinley Park social services agency is feeling the impact of the ongoing government shutdown and uncertainty surrounding food aid program SNAP.

Together We Cope—a nonprofit homeless prevention agency based in Tinley Park and serving residents of 27 south suburban communities—provides food, shelter, clothing, and referrals, in an effort to empower the homeless to self-sufficiency.

Its food pantry typically serves 60-70 suburban families per day, and prior to the shutdown, it had served 5,000 individuals per month.

Recently, they registered a record 30 new families in one day, and on one day, saw clients spike to 90.

The agency on Monday spoke of the increased demand and needs for its services—as the status of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program remains in limbo.

Last week—a day before nearly 2 million Illinois residents were poised to lose food benefits amid the ongoing government shutdown—two federal judges ordered that the Trump administration must pull from contingency funds to keep SNAP running amid the government shutdown, the Associated Press is reporting.

The judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island said the administration can determine on whether to fund the program partially or in full for November. Initially, the Trump administration said it would partially fund SNAP payments to Illinois recipients in November.

But on Tuesday, President Donald Trump back-tracked, threatening not to restore the funds until the government reopens, Politico reports.

"SNAP BENEFITS, which increased by Billions and Billions of Dollars (MANY FOLD!) during Crooked Joe Biden’s disastrous term in office (Due to the fact that they were haphazardly ‘handed’ to anyone for the asking, as opposed to just those in need, which is the purpose of SNAP!), will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

It's more confusion weighing on an agency like Together We Cope, already stretched thinner than ever before. Together We Cope’s resources were strained even before the announcement of SNAP benefits being cut off during the current federal government shutdown, the agency said in a statement.

Executive Director Kathryn Straniero said that businesses have been referring furloughed employees to local food pantries for immediate assistance, and that has accounted for much of the increased demand at the agency's food pantry. The lapse in benefits for SNAP (the government’s supplemental nutrition assistance program) only exacerbated the problem.

"We’re strained to the limits, and we run out of food on some days," Straniero said.

Increased need for other services available at TWC, beyond the food pantry, is driven by a reduction of benefits in general as the federal government sorts out its budget reduction plan, Straniero added.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture froze payments to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program over the weekend because it said it could no longer keep funding it due to the government shutdown. The program serves about 1 in 8 Americans and is a major piece of the nation’s social safety net. It costs about $8 billion per month nationally.

NBC News reported the administration plans to use all $4.65 billion in contingency funds to cover about half of each eligible household's SNAP benefits this month. The administration said it would need at least $4 billion in additional government funds to provide full SNAP benefits, also known as food

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the nation’s largest food program, said last month that benefits for November wouldn’t be paid out due to the federal government shutdown. That set off a scramble by food banks, state governments and the nearly 42 million Americans who receive the aid to find ways to ensure access to groceries.

Illinois is among a group of states that is suing the Trump administration over the suspension of the program. Nearly 2 million Illinois residents receive SNAP benefits.

In an effort to keep residents fed, Gov. JB Pritzker last week signed an executive order directing $20 million in state funding to go to state food banks.

"The Trump Administration wants to let tens of millions of Americans go hungry, a failure in leadership and abdication of our responsibility as Americans to take care of each other," Pritzker said Thursday. "Illinois families, kids, seniors, and people with disabilities will now go without food benefits because President Trump wants to use food assistance as a political bargaining chip."

The funding from the executive order was set to support seven food banks that supply more than 2,600 food pantries statewide, according to a release. One in five Chicago area households experiences food insecurity, the Greater Chicago Food Depository estimates.

The analysis of USDA Food and Nutrition Service data by the non-partisan research group that focuses on federal and state policies to reduce poverty and inequality also shows that 1,935,600 Illinois residents, that’s 15 percent of the state population (1 in 7), depend on benefits to keep food on the table.

According to the data, more than 60 percent of SNAP participants in Illinois are families with children, and 33 percent have family members who are elderly or disabled. In the fiscal year 2022, most Illinois SNAP participants have incomes below the poverty line, according to the data.In 2024, participants in Illinois received $4.47 billion in benefits, averaging approximately $192 for each household member per month.

Together We Cope is a member of the Greater Chicago Food Depository, and “we could not keep up with the current demand without our partnership with the GCFD,” Straniero said.

The depository is providing food at no cost to local pantries, and delivers once a week to Together We Cope. Other sources of food in TWC’s pantry are local resident donations and local business donations. The Food Depository’s “Food Rescue” program set up TWC for donations from Amazon Fresh and Aldi Foods. TWC also receives some assistance from Jewel Food.

“Private funding is our only hope at this point,” Straniero said, “both to keep our pantry stocked and to continue providing other services to families experiencing crisis at this time.”

Residents can contact Together We Cope at 708-633-5040 for further information. The agency is located at 17010 S. Oak Park Ave., in Tinley Park.

The agency serves Orland, Palos, Bremen and suburban Worth townships.

Towns included are: Alsip • Blue Island • Bridgeview • Chicago Ridge • Country Club Hills • Crestwood • Evergreen Park • Garden Homes • Harvey • Hazel Crest • Hickory Hills • Hometown • Homewood • Markham • Merrionette Park • Midlothian • Oak Forest • Oak Lawn • Orland Hills • Orland Park • Palos Heights • Palos Hills • Palos Park • Posen • Robbins • Tinley Park and Worth.

How you can help

1. Donate food. For a list of groceries they need most, click here.
2. Got a group? Host a food drive. It’s an easy way for a business, school, church or community group to make a big difference in the community. Email Tony Roman, pantry services manager at troman@togetherwecope.org.
3. Host a personal care products drive, winter coat drive, or a diaper drive. These items aren’t covered by a Link card (food stamps). When Together We Cope can provide them, it enables clients to use their own money for rent or mortgage payments and helps them stay in their homes. For a list of toiletries they need most, click here.
4. Volunteer in the pantry. Stock shelves, pack grocery bags, even drive the van to pick up food at local stores. To learn more, call Dianne McMaster at at 708-633-5040.

If you need food

Bring to the pantry an ID and a piece of mail, postmarked within the last 60 days that shows your current address. Individuals residing within the service area boundaries are eligible to receive groceries for themselves or their families once a month. Individuals who do not live within their service area are allowed one bag of emergency food, one time per year.

Food Pantry Hours

• Monday: CLOSED
• Tuesday: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Wednesday: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Thursday: 1 to 6 p.m.
• Friday: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Saturday – Sunday: CLOSED

Associated Press contributed to this report. Patch Editor Andrea Earnest contributed to this report.