42 Million Face SNAP Losses Starting Nov. 1

About 42 million Americans stand to lose SNAP benefits starting Nov. 1 after the government shutdown halted appropriations. The USDA says it does not have roughly $9 billion to cover November payments and will not tap contingency funds to keep benefits flowing. State impacts are acute: roughly 600,000 Coloradans (about 300,000 children), more than half a million Tennesseans (nearly 700,000 reported locally) and nearly 2 million Illinois residents face stopped November deposits. Low-income families and people with disabilities are reporting immediate hardship, and community organizations and food banks are ramping up pop-up distributions, free meal programs, coat/produce giveaways and, in some rural Colorado counties, stockpiling MREs. Lawmakers have introduced short-term fixes but prospects for quick action appear slim, and 25 Democratic-led states have sued the administration seeking to force USDA to use emergency contingency funds.