As the government starts to re-open after its record-breaking shutdown of 43 days, which ended on Nov. 12, 2025, The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or better known as SNAP, is still working to send out benefits in the country – with the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) promising to distribute these benefits by Nov. 20.
According to the USDA, 15.2% of Illinois’s population receives SNAP benefits, and with Thanksgiving right around the corner, food will certainly be of great necessity to many people in need, including in Grayslake Central’s community. GCHS has been swift to respond to these recent events.
Jen Wastag, an employee at QuestFoods, confirmed this by explaining that through their partnership with the school, kids that are in need of food can contact their counselors who will then contact QuestFoods to ensure that the student in question will be given free meals. Wastag added “When kids don’t eat you don’t focus as much right? I don’t know how much we would see on our end but I’m sure classrooms are seeing the impact of kids and their nutritional value.” A fed student learns more and retains more information than a student who is hungry.
Along with QuestFoods work, Ms. Noel Marquardt, Student Services Secretary, runs a public food pantry in the counselor’s office, which is open to any student in need. The pantry includes certain snack products like granola bars, fruit cups, and noodles – food meant to get students through the day. However, it is important to understand that the food pantry isn’t a personal snack closet. Marquardt said due to irresponsible use of the food pantry in the past “we had to stop for a year because people were taking advantage of it.”
GCHS Student Council is also working to provide food for families in need at this time, through their yearly food drive. Ms. Jazmyne Garcia, Grayslake Central math teacher and co-sponsor of the Food Drive said “What happens is we ask families to request food so we send an email out to families and be like ‘hey if you need to request food for the food drive please do so, fill out this form–this Friday [Nov. 21] we’ll sort it and then package it, and anything that is left over goes to Avon [Cares Food Pantry.” Garcia also added that the school’s Food Drive is purely confidential.
It is clear that GCHS is always working to ensure the continued well-being of its students, including those who rely on government assistance to have their next meals. With the federal government shutdown now over, and SNAP benefits hopefully being reinstated to households across the country this Thanksgiving season, hopefully many people find peace and solace knowing they will have food on the table.
