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FILE - A California's SNAP benefits shopper pushes a cart through a supermarket in Bellflower, Calif., Feb. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Allison Dinner, File)

Federal funds could begin running dry Saturday that help tens of millions of Americans to buy food for their families and send their toddlers to preschool if Congress doesn’t reach a deal by then to end the U.S. government shutdown .

Funding for another program that helps mothers care for their newborns could run out the following week.

Barring a resolution to the shutdown, the U.S. will have a gaping hole in its safety net, particularly for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps about one in eight Americans buy groceries. Benefits under the program

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