EDMONDS, Wash. — Millions of Americans went without groceries during the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, leaving families who rely on SNAP benefits struggling to make ends meet.

At Seaview Elementary in Edmonds, librarian Cory Fortin wanted her students to understand that hunger can affect anyone.

"I wanted them to know that there are people who could be their neighbors, and they might have jobs and they might have cars, and they're not homeless, but they do face food insecurity," said Fortin.

It all started with a book.

Fortin read her fourth- through sixth-graders "Lulu and the Hunger Monster," the story of a little girl whose family runs out of money for groceries. But the lesson didn't stop there.

She challenged her students to do more than just read about hunger; she

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