Editor’s note: To view a list of all food pantry options in DeKalb County, visit rootedforgood.com.

With one day to go before a potential federal cut-off of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, DeKalb County area food pantries are preparing for what some said could be an influx of local families in need.

Though the future of SNAP remains up in the air amid weeks of government shutdown with no clear end in sight, Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday signed an executive order directing $20 million in state funding to support Illinois’ seven food banks, which supply more than 2,600 pantries across the state, Capitol News Illinois reported.

Still, area food pantries that service thousands of DeKalb County families per year are ordering extra food just in case.

Staff with Rooted for Good, one of DeKalb County’s largest food pantry providers, spent Thursday prepping at their warehouse on Bethany Road in DeKalb. The nonprofit feeds locals in multiple ways, including a mobile food pantry that makes stops at churches and other centers throughout the county each month. And at a Genoa food center that offers shopping options twice a month.

As of Wednesday, Rooted for Good doesn’t have plans to add additional mobile pantry stops in November, said executive director Heather Edwards. But they’ve already noted a growing number of people using pantries this year, and that’s not likely to get better if SNAP benefits are stopped.

“We have been ordering additional food in so that we will have extra food so that we can help meet the need of that potential increase of neighbors coming to us,” Edwards said.

In 2024, Rooted for Good served more than 25,000 people in DeKalb County with its mobile food pantry. And more than 7,000 additional people were served at their Genoa site, Edwards said.

“The last time when I checked ... which was the end of September, our mobile pantry was up by about 1,300 individuals over last year at the same time,” Edwards said. “I’m certain that it’s still probably up because some of our locations have already seen an influx of people coming.”

Around 30% of those who use Rooted for Good’s mobile food pantry are over the age of 60, she said.

Anyone can use the Rooted for Good pantries. For those coming for the first time, they’ll be invited to fill out some information – not required – so that Rooted for Good can track statistics they use to apply for more grant funding regularly, Edwards said. Pantry users can also volunteer to provide their phone number to get on a notification list for when pantry dates are, Edwards said. But people can also come anonymously and make use of the pantry, no questions asked, Edwards said.

“They are able to take whatever they need,” Edwards said.

Are they worried they’ll be able to meet the need if it continues to grow?

“Looking back, we handled COVID,” Edwards said. “And it, I guess, in some ways prepared us for this. So I do feel that we will be able to handle the increase of people coming to us.”

And for anyone who may be on the fence about coming to a Rooted for Good pantry pop-up? Don’t be, Edwards said. The community is here to help.

“Please don’t feel like you can’t come and get food if you need it,” Edwards said. “Everybody is welcome to come to us to get the assistance they need. And they shouldn’t feel bad if they need to.”

Those wishing to help Rooted for Good provide for community members are always welcome to donate monetarily online or volunteer their time.

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Rooted for Good Executive Director Heather Edwards fills a cart with pasta Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025, at the facility in DeKalb. The food pantry is preparing for the potential impact of SNAP benefits being cut off due to the government shut down and the large influx of new patrons it may bring. (Mark Busch)

Still, even if SNAP benefits aren’t cut by Saturday, more food insecurity looms, CNI reported.

New rules going into effect on Dec. 1 will result in 17,000 legal immigrants having their SNAP benefits revoked. Almost 400,000 additional people in Illinois may lose their SNAP benefits in March 2026 amid new paperwork requirements to demonstrate employment, according to the governor’s office.

In DeKalb

In DeKalb, School District 428’s Barb Food Mart offers pantry items and goods to district families.

Barb Food Mart Director Denise Salihoglu said the impact of potential SNAP cuts, even though nothing is set in stone yet, is already being felt locally.

“Since the messaging about potential SNAP cuts has been circulating over the past couple of weeks, we’ve had an influx of people joining Barb Food Mart,” Salihoglu said. “In order to register, you have to prove that you have a child and you live in the school district. I think, since last Saturday, we’ve had about 50 new families register. I think the community is really feeling the cut.”

Salihoglu said Barb Food Mart will be there to help those in need.

“We did an emergency crisis response free shopping night on Monday evening,” Salihoglu said. “I put messaging on Facebook, and I emailed all their families. I shared it to all the local Facebook groups. And we had 52 families come in on Monday night to get food. ... We’re going to continue that every Monday until the need is not really there.”

Typically, Barb Food Mart gets six trucks a month of food shipments from the Northern Illinois Food Bank.

Salihoglu said they got Northern Illinois Food Bank to send two extra trucks. Barb Food Mart pays for all these shipments, she said.

At Barb Food Mart’s 900 E. Garden St. location, the pantry sees about 215 families a month. Another distribution at Mitchell Elementary School, which started in September, serves 30 families a month. At the DeKalb High School and Malta Elementary satellite pantries, there are about 300 to 400 families served each month.

People can visit Barb Food Mart’s Garden Street location on Thursdays between 4:30 and 6 p.m. Once there, they can register on the spot. They also can head to Barb Food Mart’s website and register online.

Salihoglu said the community’s response has been positive.

“We’ve had an influx of donations,” Salihoglu said. “We’ve had teachers and employees in the district [donate]. We have a program where they can donate to us directly [from] their paychecks, so we’ve had a large increase in donations.”

Barb Food Mart is open to accepting monetary donations, too. Anyone can make a contribution by visiting barbfoodmart.com.

Salihoglu said the community’s support means a lot to food pantries, like Barb Food Mart. The pantry gives out about 10,000 pounds of food weekly. They offer milk, meat, produce and other goods.

“Every dollar donated to Barb Food Mart, I can turn around and purchase $8 of food from the food bank, so a dollar really stretches a long way,” Salihoglu said.

Salihoglu said the food offered at Barb Food Mart is kept in rotation.

Salihoglu said there are a lot of people impacted by the looming SNAP cuts.

“We’ve been seeing a lot of kids in preschool,” Salihoglu said. “That’s okay, too, even if you don’t go to the DeKalb schools yet. Your family can still use Barb Food Mart. I also encourage folks to come to the Monday distribution. We did open that this week just for this SNAP crisis that we’re experiencing.”

Salihoglu described what food insecurity usually looks like in DeKalb County.

“It looks like so many different things, especially in DeKalb, because we don’t look at people’s income in order to use Barb Food Mart,” Salihoglu said. “We recognize that insecurity could be temporary. It could be like having to spend your paycheck on a car repair. It could look like being between jobs for two months. We don’t care how many times you use the pantry.”

Using Barb Food Mart can help connect families to other resources, too, Salihoglu said.

In Sycamore

For Sycamore School District 427 families, Spartan Food Pantry‘s in a good place to provide because the community is “really supportive,” said pantry board secretary Molly Tucker.

The Merchants of Sycamore recently donated to the pantry after their annual food drive, Tucker said. Proceeds from a fundraiser held by Sub 70 Golf, 202 Lucas St., Sycamore, were also recently donated. Donations to the Spartan Food Pantry aren’t limited to Sycamore businesses, however.

“This past weekend, the [Sycamore High School] class of 1975 had their 50th class reunion and part of that was also making a donation to the Spartan Food Pantry,” Tucker said. “We are so fortunate that we live in a community that really gives and serves one another. ”

Tucker said those donations, and others made by the community, mean the pantry is prepared to help those who may see a lapse in SNAP benefits.

“We are here to serve our district and families, and I think we’re ready in case there is any influx to families in need, or families who need to access the pantry,” Tucker said.

Spartan Food Pantry is open every other Wednesday from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the Sycamore Community School District 427 warehouse house located at the district’s Administration Center, 1947 Bethany Road. The pantry, which is exclusively for the families of students enrolled in Sycamore schools, is a choice pantry – meaning anyone using the pantry is able to decide for themselves what items they can have.

Tucker said that allows patrons to shop the food pantry as if it were a grocery store. Anyone looking to get involved with the pantry, donate, or find out more information is encouraged to visit spartanfoodpantry.org.

Instead of food, hygiene products such as toilet paper, paper towels and cleaning products are items that Tucker said would help the pantry. Financial donations also help support the purchase of food for the pantry.

“Monetary donations are really great because how we are able to purchase food through the Northern Illinois Food Bank,” Tucker said. “We can get a lot more per dollar when we’re able to purchase it.”

Capitol News Illinois contributed.