UPTOWN NORMAL ( 25News Now ) - The McLean County Alliance for Community Services hosted a food drive and speak-out rally Monday afternoon in Uptown Normal following a 43-day government shutdown.

Organizers told the crowd that the state is still catching up on loading SNAP benefits, and food banks have been stretched thin. The group wants Congress to protect food and healthcare programs, with another shutdown possible in January.

“I want them to understand that SNAP benefits have been a program that has been for multiple decades and, for the first time in history, has been used and politicized as a weapon against the very people they claim to represent, and that is a sad note in the history of our country at this point,” said Elijah Edwards, a community activist.

Organizers encouraged

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