During the government shutdown, JCFS Chicago provided one-time emergency grocery support to SNAP-eligible individuals and families, including grocery cards for people in our HIAS Immigration & Citizenship program whose benefits were suspended. JCFS stepped up quickly to ensure people did not go without food, putting the agency’s shared values into action and affirming that every person counts.

Distributing almost $150,000 in grocery gift cards, JCFS provided funds that enabled approximately 800 people to receive food, including 110 families of four or more, 63 families of two or three, and 37 individuals.

When Financial Social Work Counselor Maureen Grey reached out to SNAP-eligible individuals she serves to offer grocery gift cards, she received some positive and surprising news: at least three of the individuals she had been counseling no longer depended on SNAP benefits.

Their situations had improved, and they had become sustainable without SNAP, Maureen said, adding “it was so exciting!”

Maureen not only guides people to become financially stable, but she also helps them gain the confidence to ask important questions about their own situations, which often leads to positive outcomes.

“A lot of what people struggle with is fear and/or shame,” she said.

One woman she had counseled had built up her confidence after catching up on her credit card bills, but she was afraid to lose SNAP and Medicaid benefits.

“She gathered information, worked with her human resources representative, and she let go of that fear,” Maureen said.

By the time Maureen contacted her to offer grocery gift cards, she had been working for two weeks at a new job within her agency and no longer needed SNAP benefits.

Maureen received similar news from a man she had counseled: he was no longer income-eligible for SNAP benefits after a lateral move in his company. He not only received a raise, but also a retroactive lump sum.

Despite no longer relying on SNAP, the man still needed guidance when it came to purchasing food and planning meals, Maureen said. She provided him with meal-planning templates, shopping lists and information to help him find easy-to-cook, low-cost food. But she also encouraged him to reach out to friends and people at his church for assistance and advice.

As a result, his social life has also grown. He now goes grocery shopping once a week with a friend from his building.

“He made friends with people at work who helped him figure out cooking and bringing lunch,” Maureen said. “I think what’s important is that he really does feel empowered.”