Officials in Louisiana, Vermont and Virginia pledged Thursday to keep food aid flowing to recipients in their states, even if the federal program is stalled next month because of the government shutdown.

The fate of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which helps about 1 in 8 Americans buy groceries, is becoming a deep concern as it gets closer to Nov. 1, when the benefits could dry up without either a resolution of the federal government shutdown or other action.

Other states have explored using their own funds to prop up the program but have run into technical roadblocks, and it wasn't clear whether the three newly announced plans have answers for those. Legislative officials in Vermont said they’re waiting word from the state administration on how the benefit would

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