Illinois sees 16% drop in SNAP enrollment one year after food program overhaul

Small hands helped load five boxes of food into the trunk of Irene Salinas Torres’ van. “I carried this one,” one child proudly said in Spanish. Salinas Torres and her family had stopped by a nonprofit in Pilsen for its monthly food distribution this spring, soon after thousands were expected to lose access to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program because of expanded work rules and other new restrictions passed by Congress last summer. The mother of five had received $450 in…