Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation last week to expand the income threshold that veterans must fall within to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

Up until the change was enacted, veterans with a family of four only qualified for SNAP if they made less than $4,290 a month, which is at or below 165 percent of federal poverty guidelines. Now, veterans with a family of four could qualify to receive SNAP at 200 percent of the poverty guideline, or an income of up to $5,200 per month.

“Service to our country should be met with not just words, but with action and real support,” said Sen. Julie Morrison (D-Deerfield). “This law takes a step toward ensuring veterans and military families do not have to choose between paying bills or putting food on the table.”

The legislation, SB 32, was sponsored by Morrison and Rep. Stephanie Kifowit (D-Aurora) and amended the Illinois Public Aid Code. Morrison said she was motivated to sponsor the legislation after learning that more than 11 percent of veterans face food insecurity in the U.S., and the issue proved to be something legislators on both sides of the aisle could agree on, passing unanimously in both chambers.

Morrison also explained that it is imperative to help get more veterans in need access to SNAP benefits considering that recent passage of President Donald Trump’s recent One Big Beautiful Bill Act takes away the exempt status of veterans from the SNAP work requirement.

Nationally, about 42 million Americans, living in 22 million households, use SNAP. In Illinois, 1.94 million people, or about 15.2 percent of the state’s population, received SNAP benefits in 2024, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Pritzker has said that Trump’s SNAP cuts will put 360,000 Illinois residents at risk of losing SNAP benefits.

While SNAP operates as a federal-state partnership, SB 32 has language that only allows federal funding to be used for the expansion of benefits to veterans, suggesting the expansion is contingent on federal support, Morrison said.

Because the bill was passed unanimously in Illinois before being signed into law, supporters are hoping the fact that it benefits veterans will result in federal legislators supporting it, despite the recent tendency to cut SNAP benefits for other groups. 

“With federal approval and funding, this law will leverage federal dollars — at no added cost to the state — to help more military families qualify for food assistance,” Morrison said.

In a press release, she added that “expanding eligibility for SNAP benefits helps lift the burden of food insecurity and offer the stability that everyone deserves, especially our service members.”