As the government shutdown continues with no end in sight, many of our families, friends, neighbors and acquaintances are being impacted greatly. All pantries are seeing a big uptick in new clients registering for assistance.

Our pantry had 29 new client registrations in October, seven of which occurred on Oct. 30. For the month, we served 91 households with a total of 269 people in those households; 101 were children between the ages of newborn and 18.

Our average distributions for 2025 year to date were 64 families per month, an increase of 30% over the previous month.

According to a SNAP update received on Oct. 30 from the Illinois Department of Human Services via River Bend Food Bank, SNAP recipients should visit snapfederalimpact.illinois.gov for the most up-to-date information and to find food locally.

Here are some interesting facts about SNAP, as provided by IDHS: 1.9 million Illinoisans will go without SNAP benefits starting Nov. 1, 2025. Forty-five percent of those SNAP households have children, 44% include a person with a disability, and 37% include older adults living at home.

The SNAP program supports close to 20,000 jobs in local grocery stores, farming, manufacturing, and transportation in Illinois. Every $1 invested in SNAP benefits yields an economic impact of $1.50 to our local communities, resulting in a $7.2 billion economic impact annually to the Illinois economy.

The above facts do not have a name or face associated with them unless you are working at a food pantry. Our pantry volunteers see fellow Morrison residents in need of a helping hand. Many may be embarrassed in having to ask for help or are seeking assistance for the first time. Many are having to ask for help after achieving a level of financial security and then having their SNAP assistance suddenly being canceled. Some are being furloughed by their employers at no fault of their own.

Please help us help our neighbors. We need cash donations to help us purchase the food items we need to meet both current demands and this new surge. The food banks do not have the variety of food they had a year ago, prices have gone up, and that forces us to look at alternative sources to help provide food security. All monies donated stay here in Morrison to purchase needed supplies to distribute to our clients. Rest assured that we use our funds wisely to get the most out of each dollar we receive to serve our community.

Checks can be mailed to Morrison Charitable Food Pantry NFP, P.O. Box 324, Morrison, IL 61270. Cash and checks can be dropped off at our pantry location at 629 E. Lincolnway on Wednesday from 9 to 10 a.m. or Thursday from 7 to10 a.m. or given to one of our board members (listed below).

If you wish to help but have limited monetary resources, please consider donations of soap, shampoo, laundry and dish detergents, deodorants, Kleenex, etc. which are always needed. We do not purchase these items but rely on donations to provide them. We prefer smaller sizes of detergents as you can purchase more items allowing your donation dollars to go further. Dollar Tree, Dollar General and Walmart have the small size Dawn and Gain dish detergents.

No matter what the donation or size, rest assured that all donations are appreciated and needed.

Thank you Morrison for your continued support.

The Morrison Food Pantry Board of Directors

Officers are President Leveda Ashlin, Vice President Kathie Vandervinne, Treasurer Cal Vandermyde, and Secretary Carole Patton. Directors are Randy Kuehl, Peyton Emerson, Rick Smith, Paul Vandervinne, and Sheila Sonberg.