Barstow, a city in Southern California's Mojave Desert, is planning extra police patrols at grocery stores to deter theft as the food stamp aid program is set to run out of funding on Nov. 1.

The impending suspension of food aid comes as the federal government shutdown inches toward a month, making it the second-longest funding lapse in U.S. history. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which runs the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, warned earlier this month that there would be insufficient funding to pay full November benefits if the shutdown continued.

About 42 million Americans rely on food stamps, including 5.5 million in California. A little more than 23% of Barstow's population lives below the poverty line, above the state average of 17.7% and nearly double

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