AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Texans are beginning to sound the alarm regarding Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Plan (SNAP) benefits.

“SNAP benefits for November won’t be issued if the federal government shutdown continues past Oct. 27," the Texas Department of State Health Services website said.

While the website stipulates that Medicaid, WIC, TANF and CHIP benefits won’t be affected, the 3.7 million Texans (roughly 11% of the population) who rely on SNAP to pay for groceries will be the first to feel the fullest and most direct effects from the federal shutdown.

"We’ve been struggling since February," Gatesville woman Heather Penny told Nexstar. February is when Penny lost her job after caring for her grandmother's stroke. "My fiancé is the only one working, and even with his full-time job, we c

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