Why US government shutdown hurts the poorest first: Food, child care and heating

For millions of low-income Americans, the ongoing shutdown isn’t an abstract political standoff — it’s a daily emergency. Families like Hannah Mann’s in New Jersey rely on federal food subsidies and energy-assistance programmes that may run out of funds within days. Her newborn’s specialty formula costs $50 a can, and without food aid, even producing enough breast milk could soon become impossible. “It’s like a domino effect,” she said, the New York Times reported.

Programmes on the brink

Roughly 42 million Americans depend on SNAP (food stamps) for groceries. Another 6.7 million women and children depend on WIC, the Women, Infants and Children nutrition programme. Both are expected to exhaust available funds if US Congress doesn’t act. Nearly six million households rely on federal heati