PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) -- A longtime downtown Peoria soup kitchen is seeing a major increase in families seeking help ahead of the holidays.

Sophia’s Kitchen Program Director Claire Crone said the nonprofit is now serving between 600 and 700 meals daily, nearly double the number they were serving earlier this year.

“We are serving at least a third more people than we had been in the past. The need for our Friday pantry has increased significantly. Last year, we had been serving about 70 people around this time. This year it’s 130 or more. People are very desperate. They’re very worried about the SNAP benefits not going through this month,” said Crone.

Many of those families, she said, are worried about the possible pause in SNAP benefits for November.

Despite the growing demand, Crone sai

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