Overview
- USDA has told states to hold November SNAP disbursement files, raising the risk of delayed or halted benefits for roughly 41.7–42 million people.
- California set aside $80 million and will deploy the National Guard to assist food banks, while Wisconsin and other states say November benefits will be delayed or disrupted.
- Local warnings are intensifying, including a Texas notice that disruptions could begin by October 27 and a South Carolina alert affecting more than 260,000 households.
- Food banks report rising demand and caution they cannot replace SNAP at scale, noting that one food bank meal typically offsets nine provided through SNAP dollars.
- The shutdown is in its fourth week and now the second longest on record, with repeated failed Senate votes and a standoff over health insurance subsidies; Head Start and WIC also face funding cliffs by November 1.