Nearly 2 million Illinoisans will be cut off from food stamps next month if the federal government remains shut down, threatening “a vital lifeline to nutrition,” the Illinois Department of Human Services announced this week.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture informed states that it won’t fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as SNAP or food stamps, starting Nov. 1 unless there’s an end to the weeks-long government shutdown , IDHS said in a Thursday news release.

What a federal government shutdown means for Illinois

SNAP provides low-income people with prepaid cards that they can use to purchase groceries. Benefits have continued through October.

Illinois would lose the $350 million it administers to 1.9 million recipients across the state. The state

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