What happens to Americans who rely on the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program as the federal government shutdown continues?

The future of SNAP -- which provides food assistance to about 41.7 million people, or nearly one in eight Americans -- is uncertain if Congress does not reach a budget agreement soon. On Oct. 10, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the program, instructed state agencies not to prepare for November payments. In some states, new applications are already being halted.

SNAP costs an average of $187 per person a month, according to the Associated Press. That’s more than $100 billion in the fiscal year that ended September 30, 2024, making it one of the largest pieces of the federal social safety net.

While programs like Social Security an

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