WASHINGTON >> States this week warned food aid recipients that their benefits may not be distributed in November if the federal government shutdown stretches into its fourth week.

Warnings issued on at least two dozen state websites flag the potential for an unprecedented benefit gap for more than 41 million people who get aid from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, and the nearly 7 million who receive aid from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC.

Such a gap threatens to further increase rising hunger rates in the U.S. The Trump administration this year shrunk federal funding for food banks and is rolling out heightened work requirements for SNAP that could push some people off the program.

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