🔗 Share this article Food Benefits Scheduled to Expire for Tens of Millions During Continuing Federal Shutdown Federal agriculture authorities declared on Saturday that nutrition assistance payments under one of the country’s largest welfare initiatives won't be issued in November because of the continuing federal government shutdown. Shutdown Extends For Nearly Four Weeks The funding lapse lasted nearly a month as officials revealed the news, which followed calls from over 200 Democratic representatives urging agriculture officials to utilize emergency reserves to cover November's food assistance. “The reality is, the well has run dry,” officials announced. “At this time, no payments will be distributed” starting next month. National Consequences Over 40 million Americans depend on these monthly payments, as reported by official statistics. In certain states, including one southwestern state, use of SNAP reaches a significant portion of citizens. Internal communications seen by a major news agency indicated that federal authorities would not access reserve funds to cover next month's assistance. Legislative Deadlock Republicans and Democrats continue to disagree regarding how to finance and restart federal agencies. Remarks from the director at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities suggested that federal leadership could have acted to take earlier action to ensure continuous assistance. “They had the ability and responsibility taken steps weeks ago to make arrangements to use these funds,” the remarks concluded. “Instead, officials could opt out for potential political benefit” as Republicans seek to push upper chamber Democrats to vote for a funding package to restart federal functions. Emergency Measures State leaders from multiple regions activated emergency protocols recently to free up resources to combat potential hunger expecting SNAP benefits not being issued in November.