Copyright Joliet, IL Patch
Wooden Paddle is offering free lunch throughout November for those losing their SNAP benefits. LEMONT, IL — Lemont's Wooden Paddle restaurant is offering support for those in need, after changes to SNAP benefits due to the ongoing government shutdown. President Donald Trump’s administration said Monday that it will partially fund SNAP payments to Illinois recipients in November, after a pair of judges’ rulings required it to keep the food aid program running. The U.S. Department of Agriculture froze payments to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program over the weekend because it said it could no longer keep funding it due to the government shutdown. The program serves about 1 in 8 Americans and is a major piece of the nation’s social safety net. It costs about $8 billion per month nationally. Nearly 2 million Illinois residents receive SNAP benefits. In Lemont, Wooden Paddle is offering free lunch throughout November. If you're losing your SNAP benefits, you can stop by either the Lemont location or the La Grange location and show your card, the business shared. "We just don’t like seeing people struggle," Wooden Paddle Creative Director Tris Wang told Patch. "We have such an amazing community here, and we want to do our part to support it. Over the years, the community has supported us — now it’s our turn to give back." The free lunch of wood-fired pizzas will be available for carry-out from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. all November. "As a restaurant, we believe food shouldn’t be a luxury. We can feed people, and we’re happy to do it," Wang said. The restaurant has also set up a donation link after many asked how they could help support the free lunch program.
