As the federal government prepares to restore partial food assistance benefits, families across the Philadelphia area say they're still struggling to make ends meet and are unsure when, or how much, help will arrive.

Rachael Butcher, a Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, resident who relies on SNAP benefits to feed her family of five, said she worries if her three kids and husband will have enough to eat this month.

"This is not a great time for all of us," Butcher said.

Butcher saw the news Monday that the USDA announced plans to use contingency funds to provide reduced SNAP benefits during the ongoing government shutdown. But she says the announcement raised more questions than answers.

"I was totally confused," she said. "I saw it, and I'm like, what does that mean? I don't really

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