America is in disarray amidst the current government shutdown due to President Trump’s insistence on building a wall along the United States’ Southern border, but the people who will be impacted the most will be those who receive government assistance.
Almost 40 million Americans depend on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, for food benefits, but the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture said last month that the program is funded through January, but it has only $3 billion in reserves to cover February, which is less than two-thirds of food stamps’ $4.8 billion cost in September.
What will happen at this point hasn’t been confirmed, but if the $3 billion reserve were distributed, that would mean about a $90 decrease for the 19.4 million households that receive an average of $245 a month in food stamps, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
The SNAP program, which offers nutrition assistance to over 7 million low-income pregnant women, new mothers, and young children is also in jeopardy. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children or WIC, also has federal funding to last only through January, according to the National WIC Association.
Many people across the country have been gravely concerned about their federal tax returns, which has also been halted indefinitely due to the shutdown.
TheSource.com will update you on this story as it develops.
