CHICAGO (WLS) -- Lined up outside the West Side's Aspire Center for Workforce Innovation, hundreds of Chicagoans patiently waited for a crucial box of food amid an already uncertain time for people living with food insecurity on Saturday.

"I'm retired now, so I count every penny. You go to the grocery store, the fruits, veggies, meats, everything is off the chain," said one SNAP recipient.

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The Greater Chicago Food Depository hosted nine separate emergency food distribution events across the Chicago area on Saturday to meet the need as the state works to pay out SNAP benefits.

Even as the federal government reopens , many in Illinois still have not received benefits and may not until later this week.

People at Saturday's distri

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