Unit 5 families facing reduced or delayed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits this month will find a closer-to-home safety net at Kingsley Junior High School. Entering the 2025-26 school year, Unit 5 moved its district pantry to Kingsley to better serve families across the district, Superintendent Dr. Kristen Weikle said.

The relocation follows changes at the Eastern Illinois Foodbank that ended its monthly Foodmobile stops at Normal West last spring. 

“We used to have a Foodmobile once a month at West and anyone from the community could come and get food and choose items they wanted,” Weikle said. “But Eastern Illinois Foodbank notified us last spring that they were going to change their model so we wouldn’t be able to continue that.”

The district operated a pantry at Brigham Early Learning Center last year, primarily serving early learning parents and families referred by coordinators, before shifting to Kingsley, a more central location, Weikle said. 

At Kingsley, Unit 5 plans evening and select Saturday-morning “shop” times for district families to choose canned items, some fresh produce, and, at times, meat. 

These times “help offset the expensive cost of the grocery store,” Weikle said, as national grocery prices are on the rise, adding the Kingsley site will be “specifically for Unit 5 families and not open just to anyone in the community.” 

The local move comes as the national SNAP landscape grows more uncertain.

Amid a prolonged federal shutdown, the Trump administration told a federal judge it will use emergency funds to cover roughly half of November SNAP benefits nationwide, leaving states to manage delays and shortfalls. 

Illinois’ Department of Human Services has warned recipients they will receive, at most, 50% of normal November benefits, with some households receiving less or none, and that payments may be delayed. 

State leaders are trying to cushion the shock.

Gov. JB Pritzker signed an executive order directing $20 million to Illinois food banks as SNAP lapses and partial payments ripple through food pantries and grocers.

Locally, the end of the Foodmobile aligns with the food bank’s focus on meeting “historic need” while encouraging school-based markets. 

Eastern Illinois Foodbank officials said distributions at West were always a bridge to getting a Unit 5 market established, the food bank told WGLT, as local demand has roughly doubled in the past two years as pandemic-era support ended.

Resources previously distributed at West will now be directed to rural pantries, according to the food bank. 

For students, the shift to Kingsley is meant to reduce distance and stigma, while meeting a growing need.

Since 2016, Unit 5 has seen over a 20% increase in low-income students, from 31.3% in 2016 to 37.8% last year. 

The new location, Weikle said, “can help meet a need for everyone.” 

For a full list of other local food pantries, click here.