Hammond resident Leah Allen has been receiving $115 a month in SNAP benefits for a little over a year.

“It’s not much, but it does help out,” Allen said, adding that she uses SNAP benefits for her groceries, particularly for fresh vegetables.

Allen, 69, said she receives Social Security payments, but that covers her bills and housing costs. Without SNAP benefits, Allen said she will have to rely on her family to help her buy groceries.

Beyond her and her family, Allen said she’s concerned about working families who won’t be able to feed their children when SNAP funding ends Nov. 1 amid the government shutdown.

“It needs to be reinstated,” Allen said. “People are going to be out here starving.”

The fate of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which helps about 1 in 8

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