FRESH Illinois program provides food benefits to those who lost SNAP

A new Illinois program launched this weekend, providing food benefits to people who lost their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits because of federal changes.

The Families Receiving Emergency Support for Hunger, or FRESH, program kicked off on Saturday.

State lawmakers put aside $70 million in the Fiscal Year 2027 budget for the program.

On May 1, as many as 150,000 Illinois SNAP participants were set to lose their benefits due to new, stricter eligibility rules in the Trump Administration's "One Big Beautiful Bill." 

The bill requires all able-bodied adults 64 or younger to meet new work requirements to keep their food stamp benefits by either working, volunteering, or going to school for at least 80 hours a month. 

The new requirements apply to people ages 18 to 64, including veterans and unhoused people. 

Now, households that lost their SNAP benefits have been automatically enrolled to get to receive a $400 payment from the state.

People who lose SNAP coverage in the coming months will also receive payments until funding for the program runs out.