FORT PIERCE — Claudia’s home in St. Lucie County was reduced to rubble by the tornado spawned from Hurricane Milton last year, leaving her to rebuild on a single income and $270 a month in SNAP benefits. For two years, those funds have been her lifeline, stretching to cover groceries for herself and her family. “If they don’t come in,” she said, “I wouldn’t be able to make it. I don’t know what I would do.”
Claudia isn’t alone. Across the Treasure Coast, roughly 80,000 residents rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, to put food on the table. That’s 1 in 8 people here, including 17 million children nationwide, 6 million seniors, and 1 million with disabilities. But as the federal government shutdown stretches into its 34th day, an unprecedented crisis has unfolded: For the first time in SNAP’s 60-year history, November benefits — totaling $8-9 billion nationally — failed to disburse on Nov. 1.
The fallout is raw and immediate…