SNAP benefits are in jeopardy for nearly 70,000 Rockford area residents come November. With that in mind, the Mayor's Hunger Luncheon held at Veteran's Memorial Hall became even more relevant than before.

"Food insecurity is rising all across the country," Northern Illinois Food Bank Senior Manager Robert Desio said. "Especially in these times where we have public benefits like SNAP benefits that are under threat, people are going to rely more and more on food pantries to get assistance."

The hunger luncheon is an annual event aimed to raise money for food pantries and battle hunger in the Rockford area. The event was sold out, much to the delight of Rockford mayor Tom McNamara.

"We're really excited. We have a full house and we're raising money for the nine local pantries in our commun

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