Monica Bassett, married to an active-duty service member at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, understands the anxiety facing military families as lawmakers in Washington continue budget negotiations.

"We're at this standstill and that panic, that's panic on real military families," Bassett said.

Bassett founded a food pantry that serves military families and has been closely monitoring the looming shutdown.

"We're going to have an influx of people attending the pantry and needing services," Bassett said.

Ennio Valente, a veteran in Kansas City, has experienced the impacts of government shutdowns before. He served in the Air Force when he was 18.

"It's a game that they play. It's a political game," Valente said.

In an email to KSHB 41, the press secretary for the U.S. Department of Veterans A

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