RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson is suing the federal government for withholding hundreds of millions of dollars in food assistance benefits as the government shutdown continues.

The lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture accuses the federal government of purposely keeping $230 million in food assistance dollars that would go toward feeding 1.4 million North Carolina residents.

According to Jackson, 600,000 children in the North Carolina, more than 40,000 of whom are under 18 months old, will be affected if that money isn't handed over to the state. He also said the department could be using a reserve fund meant to keep the food rolling out, but they're not touching that money.

"Nearly 600,000 children in our state could be without food in

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