America's Hunger Crisis Could Be What Ends the Shutdown

"On the first day of every month, Ethel Ingram goes to the grocery store with $171 in federally funded food stamps and a nearly impossible mission: Buy enough food for the next 30 days. She usually fails. A couple of weeks into most months, she's forced to pursue another goal: visiting enough food banks to stock her refrigerator until the month ends and her account reloads."

"This is what happens when a record-long government shutdown affects millions of Americans who are already struggling with the high cost of food, housing, child care, and just about everything else. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has stopped issuing payments for the first time in its 61-year history, leaving a sudden gash in the social safety net. For the nearly 42 million SNAP beneficiaries, November 1 was the day that the government shutdown became intensely personal."

Ethel Ingram, a 76-year-old Sanford, Florida resident, receives $171 in monthly SNAP benefits but often must visit food banks midmonth to stock her refrigerator. The government shutdown stopped SNAP payments for the first time in the program's 61-year history, leaving nearly 42 million beneficiaries without November assistance. Food banks have become more crowded, and recipients face unpaid bills for utilities, housing, and insurance. Reports of overwhelmed food banks and air-traffic disruptions have spurred congressional discussions to end the 35-day shutdown. Head Start programs face sudden closures and federal workers risk missed paychecks as the shutdown continues.

Read at The Atlantic