Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Thursday that the food stamp program will run out of funds in two weeks because of the partial government shutdown, potentially leaving nearly 42 million people without monthly benefits.

“We’re going to run out of money in two weeks. So you’re talking about millions and millions of vulnerable families, of hungry families, that are not going to have access to these programs because of this shutdown,” Rollins said outside the White House.

The Agriculture Department later in the day released an Oct. 10 letter to regional SNAP directors directing them to stop work on November benefits.

“Considering the operational issues and constraints that exist in automated systems, and in the interest of preserving maximum flexibility, we are forced to direct St

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