The federal government has remained shut down for more than a month now, with Democrats and Republicans in the Senate continuing to clash over crucial federal funding bills.
Throughout this entire month, more than 750,000 out of 2.1 million federal workers have been furloughed, which means they’ve been sent home without receiving paychecks. Hundreds of thousands of additional essential government staff members are being forced to continue working without pay.
Food pantries have experienced increased pressure as numerous federal employees face serious financial hardships. Making the situation even more challenging, as the holiday season approaches, 42 million Americans who depend on food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) went without this crucial support starting Nov. 1…