Federal changes in work requirements have played a role.
Illinois food stamp participation hit a decade low in May, falling more than 23% from the previous year, with new federal work requirements contributing to the drop.
Despite the decline, the state’s benefit payment error rate rose to a 10-year high.
About 1,565,300 Illinois residents received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in May 2026, down about 368,000 from May 2025 but still about one in every eight people in the state.
While food assistance use was already falling in Illinois, the decline accelerated and reached a decade low after the new work requirements took effect.
Benefits ended May 1 for residents who did not take steps to meet the new federal eligibility requirements, which apply generally to able-bodied adults without dependents.
Between late April and late May alone, 88,537 Illinoisans lost access to SNAP benefits. That’s the single largest monthly enrollment drop in the past decade.
