BIDDEFORD, Maine — Mayors in Maine met Friday to discuss how they can help residents struggling to afford food while Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits remain on hold.

The government has been shut down for one month. Two federal judges made separate, last-minute rulings Friday ordering the Trump administration to use $5 billion sitting in U.S. Department of Agriculture's contingency fund to pay out SNAP benefits for November.

Although the ruling has been made, many expect that SNAP recipients will still experience delays. Mayors from Maine towns and cities discussed how they can minimize the damage any delays of SNAP benefits will cause.

"Hunger has become a political pawn on a chess board that has no business being there," Portland Mayor Mark Dion said. "Being hungry i

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