The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — more commonly known as SNAP, or food stamps — is a key benefits program that serves more than 40 million people across the country. Now, the shutdown is threatening to temporarily suspend benefits, raising concerns over where millions of people who rely on the program will turn to for food.

New York is shelling out $30 million in emergency food assistance, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced this week, with federal SNAP benefits set to dry up Saturday amid the historic government shutdown. It would be the first time in U.

About 42 million Americans rely on SNAP to help pay for food every month. The payments help low-income individuals and families buy food at their local grocery stores with an EBT card that can be used on qualifying items.

As the federal shutdown approaches the one-month mark, Americans are feeling the impact of lost funding and closed programs. States are rushing to fill gaps in food aid and early childhood services, while military families brace for missed paychecks.

The plan to fund SNAP amid the federal government shutdown faces an uncertain path in a politically divided Michigan Legislature.

25 states and DC sue Trump admin over SNAP benefits On Tuesday, more than two dozen states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts suing the Trump administration over the impending loss of SNAP benefits amid the government shutdown.

Government funding crisis threatens SNAP benefits for 42 million Americans. Kentucky joins lawsuit while Tennessee stays out despite 121,000 families at risk.

However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) warned that it no longer has the funding to deliver November food benefits. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell co-led a coalition of 22 other attorneys general and three governors in suing the Trump administration over the funding lapse, saying the funds do exist in a contingency fund.