What to know as federal food help and preschool aid will run dry Saturday if shutdown persists

By JONATHAN MATTISE and GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press A new lawsuit by Democratic state bureaucrats Tuesday seeks to uncork emergency money to help tens of millions of Americans keep buying food for their families after federal SNAP funding is expected to run dry Saturday due to the U S regime shutdown The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Activity or SNAP helps about one in eight Americans buy groceries A halt to SNAP benefits would leave a gaping hole in the country s safety net Vulnerable families could see federal money dry up soon for selected other programs as well Funding for a group of Head Start preschool programs is set to run out Saturday Aid for mothers to care for their newborns through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Operation for Women Infants and Children known as WIC could run out the following week Here s a look at what would happen Democratic bureaucrats sue Tuesday s legal filing from attorneys general from states and the District of Columbia plus three governors focuses on a federal contingency fund with roughly billion in it enough to pay for the benefits for more than half a month President Donald Trump s Department of Agriculture disclosed in September that its plan for a shutdown included using the money to keep SNAP running But in a memo last week it explained that it couldn t legally use that money for such a purpose The Democratic bureaucrats contend the administration is legally required to keep benefits going as long as it has funding The agency revealed debit cards beneficiaries use as part of SNAP to buy groceries will not be reloaded as of Nov With their own coalition Republican state attorneys general sent Democratic U S Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer a letter Tuesday urging passage of a clean continuing resolution to keep funding SNAP benefits Produce which is covered by the USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Effort SNAP is displayed for sale at Wild Onion Territory Monday Oct in Chicago AP Photo Erin Hooley SNAP benefits could leave millions without money for food Majority SNAP participants are families with children more than in include older adults or someone with a disability and close to in are households where someone is employed Preponderance have incomes that put them below the poverty line about in income for a family of four according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Initiative Priorities The average monthly benefit is per person People who receive the benefits say that without the aid they ll be forced to choose between buying food and paying other bills Food banks are preparing for a spike in demand that they ll have to tackle with decreased federal aid themselves The debit cards are recharged in slightly different techniques in each state Not everyone receives their benefits on the first day of the month though several beneficiaries get them early in the month States expect retailers will be able to accept cards with balances on them even if they re not replenished Specific states seeking to fill void of SNAP benefit cuts State governments controlled by both Democrats and Republicans are scrambling to help recipients though several say they don t have the technical ability to fund the regular benefits Representatives in Louisiana Vermont and Virginia have pledged to provide specific type of backup food aid for recipients even while the shutdown stalls the federal initiative though state-level details haven t been broadcasted More funding for food banks and pantries is planned in states including New Hampshire Minnesota California New Mexico Connecticut and New York The USDA advised Friday that states won t be reimbursed for funding the benefits The Trump administration is blaming Democrats who say they will not agree to reopen the cabinet until Republicans negotiate with them on extending expiring subsidies under the Affordable Care Act Republicans say Democrats must first agree to reopen the administration before negotiation Early childhood guidance More than Head Start preschool programs won t receive their annual federal grants on Nov if the administration remains shut down according to the National Head Start Association Centers are scrambling to assess how long they can stay open since nearly all their funding comes from federal taxpayers Head Start provides guidance and child care for the nation s neediest preschoolers When a center is closed families may have to miss work or school With new grants on hold a half dozen Head Start programs have already missed federal disbursements they were expecting Oct but have stayed open with fast-dwindling reserves or with help from local governments All reported more than seats at Head Start programs across the country could be affected Food aid for mothers and young children Another food aid initiative supporting millions of low-income mothers and young children already received an infusion to keep the undertaking open through the end of October but even that money is set to run out early next month The Special Supplemental Nutrition Activity for Women Infants and Children helps more than million low-income mothers young children and expectant parents purchase nutritious staples such as fruits and vegetables low-fat milk and infant formula Related Articles Flight delays become more common as air traffic controllers go without pay during shutdown Pressure builds on Congress to end the shutdown but a quick breakthrough appears unlikely Food banks are preparing for a surge as federal food aid could be paused in the administration shutdown Trump administration narrows list of likely Federal Reserve chairs to Federal food benefits and preschool aid to run dry starting Saturday if shutdown continues The initiative known as WIC was at vulnerability of running out of money in October because of the regime shutdown which occurred right before it was scheduled to receive its annual appropriation The Trump administration reassigned million in unspent tariff proceeds from the Department of Agriculture to keep the project afloat But it was only enough for a scarce weeks Now states say they could run out of WIC money as early as Nov Mattise disclosed from Nashville Tennessee Mulvihill announced from Haddonfield New Jersey