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Dolton officials say village lacks funds to replace SNAP benefits, urge residents to seek partners and call mayor's office
Summary
At a village meeting, officials said the Village of Dolton does not have resources to fully replace SNAP benefits expected to change on Nov. 1 and encouraged residents in need to contact the mayor's office and community partners such as Free Indeed.
A resident asked village leaders whether Dolton has a backup plan should changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) take effect on Nov. 1, saying families and students could face gaps in access to food.
“We do not have the funding at the level that the federal government would have to provide those benefits,” a village official replied. “We will be working on partnerships, similar to the ones with, like, Free Indeed and other entities that can provide similar services. But to the level that SNAP allows for it, unfortunately, we don't have that level of resources.”
Trustee Beltran added that the village and local partner Free Indeed have been connected with Amazon, which has enabled Free Indeed to secure additional food and nonperishables for distribution to Dolton residents. The resident noted that food baskets provided by two different school districts are part of local holiday assistance but expressed concern about families’ needs when children are not in school.
Village officials emphasized there is no formal, fully funded local replacement for SNAP benefits and encouraged anyone in immediate need to contact the village and the mayor's office. “I would encourage anybody that is in great need to call the village as well and the mayor's office,” the village official said, adding the outreach applies to senior citizens as well.
No formal motions, votes or funding measures addressing SNAP replacement were recorded in the discussion. Officials described current steps as outreach and partnership-building rather than a structured, funded program.
