INDIANAPOLIS -- As the government shutdown extends into its third week, the USDA has asked all state agencies to hold off on the process of issuing November benefits.

That includes the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA)—putting roughly 580,000 Hoosiers at risk. Food security advocates had warned for the last several weeks that Hoosiers relying on SNAP and WIC could see their benefits disrupted if the shutdown doesn’t end by November.

“It could have very significant impacts on those families and the health of their children,” Pam Verbarg with the Arc of Greater Boone County said.

The Arc acts as the sponsoring agency for the area’s WIC program. According to Verbarg, the Indiana Department of Health has acknowledged that the state’s WIC program will not receive any f

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