As the federal government shutdown threw Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits into uncertainty, leaving millions of Americans unsure how they would feed their children, a Kentucky woman took to TikTok to test an urgent question: Who would step in to help families in need?

Nikalie, as she is known online, launched a social experiment in which she called dozens of religious organizations across the country. She contacted a wide range of congregations, including Christian, Islamic, and Buddhist groups, as well as predominantly Black and Hispanic churches. During each call, she posed as a mother with a starving newborn and played a recording of a crying baby in the background while asking for a single can of baby formula.

Some organizations said they did not have the mea

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