Illinois Policy Institute reported: Illinois food stamp enrollment fell in July to its lowest level in at least 13 years, a drop driven by new federal work requirements.

About 1.5 million Illinois residents received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in July, down more than 23% from July 2025 and the lowest monthly total in state data going back to 2013.

Enrollment has declined in each of the past eight months, but the steepest drops came after benefits ended May 1 for residents who did not take steps to meet the new federal eligibility requirements, which apply generally to able-bodied adults without dependents.

Since April, the last month before those rules took hold, the state has shed about 173,000 SNAP recipients, a 10.5% drop in three months.

Illinois is using state tax dollars to temporarily offset some of the benefit losses.

The state’s new Families Receiving Emergency Support for Hunger program (FRESH), provides a one-time $400 payment to eligible Illinoisans whose SNAP benefits were terminated or reduced because they failed to meet the new work requirements. Lawmakers set aside $70 million for the program, it does not restore recipients to SNAP. Payments began Aug. 1.

The number of Illinois households receiving SNAP also has fallen sharply. About 810,800 households in the state received benefits in July, down 23.5% from July 2025.

Even so, about 1-in-9 Illinois residents still receive food assistance.

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