Aurora food pantries ramp up delivery, take-home services amid federal immigration fears, SNAP funding uncertainty
Elizabeth Eccher started her delivery route at around 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday. This week, she has four stops. Many weeks, she has five or six.
Eccher, 69, who’s retired, has been volunteering with the Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry since July, taking bags of food to homes in the community.
According to Katie Arko, the pantry’s executive director, demand for home deliveries has increased significantly in recent weeks — in part, she thinks, because residents are concerned about leaving their homes amid fears of federal immigration enforcement in the area.
Nearly two months into President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security’s “Operation Midway Blitz,” a surge of immigration law enforcement in Chicago and its surrounding suburbs, Aurora-area food pantry leaders are saying the way individuals are seeking food from their organizations is changing.
Additionally, with uncertainty surrounding the future of SNAP benefits, Aurora-area food pantries are ramping up their delivery and take-home options, trying to recruit additional help and packing more food as immigration fears keep people at home, but demand for food continues to rise.
Eccher’s an early riser, and she normally comes in at around 8 a.m. on Wednesdays to help stock Aurora Area Interfaith’s shelves until it’s time to start her delivery route.
She delivers most Wednesdays, but says it rarely takes more than an hour. Recently, she’s been trying to help out on Fridays, too.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/01/aurora-food-pantries-immigration-fears-snap-lapse/