Timothy Young, a 63-year-old dishwasher at VCU Medical Center, spent his day off riding crowded buses across Richmond searching for open food banks.

"I called to check the status of my EBT balance and they said $0.22, so I went up to the social services building and she said no, they canceled the weekly installment because they finally made an agreement," Young said.

Young initially felt relieved when he learned the U.S. Senate was finalizing a deal to reopen the government, which would fully restore his SNAP benefits. However, he was told he would have to wait until Congress passed the deal and the president signed it.

The state is no longer supplementing emergency SNAP funds following federal notification that at least 65% of monthly SNAP benefits would be paid this week after a court

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