If you recall, the start of the fourth quarter in 2025 began with a government shutdown and a pause on SNAP benefits, causing uncertainty for many families and individuals across the country. Locally, Western Illinois Regional Council CEO Stacy Nimmo informs that pause led to the increase in visits to their food pantry in McDonough County:
“Our food pantry, in particular, with the pause on SNAP benefits and some of the uncertainty that was happening, our food pantry numbers just went through the roof. We are grateful for Jamieson Community Center and the work they do in Monmouth and Warren County, our numbers to the food pantry over the last year doubled from the previous year. We were seeing on average about 80 to 85 households per month. Households are able to come one time, and they get one week of meals. We served over 1,215 unique households and we gave out over 300,000 meals. We couldn’t have done it without the help of all of our volunteers. We also have an amazing staff.”
Western Illinois Regional Council’s Good Food Pantry is located at 133 West Jackson Street in Macomb and is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 to 5 pm.
