KANSAS CITY, Mo. —

The impact of the federal government shutdown is starting to hit home for many Kansas City–area families.

Local food pantries, including Harvesters, are bracing for an uptick in demand as thousands of federal workers remain furloughed or unpaid. Advertisement

“We are anticipating a larger amount of people needing to seek our services depending on how long it ends up going, which nobody knows at this point,” said Matt Hamer with Harvesters.

The nonprofit is preparing for a potential surge if the shutdown drags on. Federal nutrition programs such as WIC and SNAP could soon face funding disruptions .

“That’s one of the reasons we’re wanting to prepare now and see if we can get some more donations,” Hamer said. “If you’re not able to utilize that service to purchas

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