As the federal government’s shutdown moves into a fifth week, impacts are continuing to seep down to the state level.

The Mississippi Department of Human Services announced Friday that due to the ongoing funding lapse, benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for the month of November are not set to be issued. This comes as the U.S. Department of Agriculture warned earlier this month that, if the shutdown continues, it will have “insufficient funds” to pay the full cost of November’s benefits.

“This pause in benefits is a direct result of the federal shutdown and is not a state-level decision,” a news release from MDHS reads. “The United States Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service has directed states not to transmit EBT issuance files to EBT vendor

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