There aren't enough food banks and emergency assistance centers to deal with this impending crisis.
If the government shuts down at the beginning of next month, people will go hungry. This is likely a feature rather than a bug of a government shutdown, as far as Republicans are concerned. It's one of the destructive realities of this despicable game they insist on playing.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides monthly food benefits to 45 million Americans, will go dark if Congress fails to pass a law funding government operations after Oct. 1, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the program.
"If Congress does not act to avert a lapse in appropriations, then USDA will not have the funding necessary for SNAP benefits in October and will be forced to stop providing benefits within the first several days of October," a USDA spokesperson said in an email. "Once that occurs, families won’t be able to use these benefits at grocery stores to buy the food their families need."
The USDA had a contingency fund in 2013 that kept the program going during that shutdown. Thanks to budget cuts, they don't have that contingency now. While Senate Democrats are highlighting this problem, the guy in charge of the Senate Agriculture Committee, which has oversight, dismisses it and says the answer is simple—cut Planned Parenthood's funding. "The best way to ensure SNAP recipients receive needed support is to vote for the [continuing resolution]," Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) says. "I’m prepared to do so, and if members are worried about SNAP funding, they should too."Meanwhile, the Obama administration has begun preparing for a partial shutdown. As in 2013, agencies are being told to work out their plans for who gets to continue working—either because of things like contingency funds or because "they fall within an exception for protecting property, public safety or health"—and who will be sent home.
