Nearly 42 million people in the United States are at risk of losing basic food assistance in November due to the federal government shutdown, CNN reported.
One in eight Americans receives food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The program's reserve fund is approximately $6 billion, but the total amount of payments to individuals will increase to $8 billion in November. Therefore, the US Department of Agriculture may face the possibility of completely depleting the fund in two weeks.
The partial shutdown of the US federal government began at midnight on October 1, due to a lack of funding. This happened because representatives of the ruling Republican and opposition Democratic parties in Congress were unable to reach an agreement on several spending items, including health care. Democrats and Republicans have accused each other of provoking and prolonging the shutdown for political purposes.