ROCKFORD, IL — Winnebago County Housing Authority resident Dominque Bannister expects to face tough choices about whether to buy food, purchase needed medication or pay utility bills as food assistance is about to be cut off by the continuing government shutdown.

Low-income residents like Bannister and her family of four, food pantries and service providers are bracing for a crisis across the region as thousands are on Nov. 1 expected to lose access to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, or SNAP, without a resolution to the federal budget impasse.

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