"Waves of hungry Angelenos gathered outside Community Space food bank's storefront on a recent afternoon, grabbing dry goods like pastries, bagels, lentils and pasta along with refrigerated salads and frozen bags of brisket. The crowd ebbs and flows all day, said founder Gaines Newborn, but as news spread last week that the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) would cease on Saturday, he braced for the need to dramatically increase."
"As the federal government shutdown stretches into its second month, the Trump administration announced that Snap, which helps around 42 million people afford food each month, will exhaust its funding at the start of November something that has never happened before in the program's half-century history. On Friday, two separate federal judges blocked the government's attempt to stop paying out the benefits, but the administration could appeal the orders to a higher court."
Food banks are seeing sharply increased demand as clients and unpaid federal workers prepare for a possible SNAP benefit interruption in early November. Community Space in Los Angeles and Food Bank for NYC report more calls, longer lines, and greater need for dry goods, refrigerated items, and frozen meat. SNAP serves about 42 million people monthly and faces an unprecedented funding shortfall as the federal shutdown continues into its second month. Two federal judges temporarily blocked efforts to halt payments, but appeals are possible. Food banks warn that they cannot fully substitute for the scale of federal assistance.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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