ICYMI: Trump and Republicans are Taking Food Away from Kids in Ohio and Illinois Arrow

What was Donald Trump's year 1 priority? Giving handouts to billionaires and taking food away from hungry kids in the Midwest. Starting on February 1 in Ohio and Illinois, thousands of kids and families are at risk of losing the assistance they rely on to put food on the table because of Donald Trump's Big Ugly Bill. Working families are already struggling to afford groceries due to Trump's failed economic policies that have increased food prices by over $300 for the average family.

A reminder: 717,000 Ohio families and 1,102,000 Illinois families rely on SNAP to afford their groceries.

In response, DNC Deputy Communications Director Abhi Rahman released the following statement:

"While Trump builds gilded ballrooms and attends black-tie movie premieres with billionaires, kids and families in Ohio, Illinois, and across our country are going hungry because of his Big Ugly Bill. It's cruel. It's inhumane. And it's un-American. While Donald Trump and Republicans continue to double down on their policies that are raising costs by hundreds of dollars, Democrats won't stop fighting to lower costs for working families and make it easier - not harder - to put food on the table."

Read more below:

Chicago Tribune: 'Not sustainable': New SNAP work requirements could leave up to 340,000 Illinois residents without enough food

By Rebecca Johnson

• Adults ages 55 to 64, and parents without children younger than 14, will be required to prove they're working, volunteering or participating in job training for at least 80 hours a month to keep their SNAP benefits, according to IDHS.

• These groups were exempt from work requirements prior to President Donald Trump signing into law last year the sweeping "One Big Beautiful Bill." It also repealed work exemptions for homeless individuals and veterans. Up to 340,000 Illinoisans could be affected, IDHS said.

• "Trump's budget bill is designed to deliberately prevent Americans and Illinoisans from receiving assistance through the SNAP program by implementing new requirements that burden states and individuals who rely on this 100 percent federally funded benefits resource," IDHS said in a statement.

• It's imperative that participants notify IDHS as soon as possible, Mattson said, because adults who don't meet the work requirements (or alert the department of an exemption) can only get food stamps for three months in a three-year period. The clock starts on Feb. 1, meaning individuals could lose benefits entirely by May.

• For every meal provided by the Feeding America network of food banks, SNAP provides the equivalent of nine meals, said Mattson, with the Greater Chicago Food Depository. She said food pantries can serve as temporary stopgaps, but can't replace SNAP.

• "When you take that support away, it's going to create a need we were never designed to meet," Mattson said.