BANGOR, Maine — Shelves that were fully stocked when Hammond Street Congregational Church opened Tuesday became empty within hours as volunteers try to keep up with demand during the first week SNAP benefits are on hold.

“I’ve been doing this for two years, and I’ve never seen our shelves so empty,” Lynn MacGregor, who volunteers at the pantry, said. "We’ve had a ton of new faces today, people we’ve never seen before. There’s obviously a need."

The pause comes after President Donald Trump posted on social media that SNAP benefits will not be distributed until Congress ends the federal government shutdown. Soon after that announcement, White House press secretary Karoline Levitt said the administration would continue partial payments using contingency funds, but not the full amount, leavi

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