Just like every Saturday morning, volunteers at St. Andrew Church in Pasadena have gathered to hand out food products to those in need.

But today, the work takes on a different level of urgency as SNAP food assistance for millions of Americans has lapsed because of the government shutdown.

" I sent out an email to all of the volunteers that have been here at one time or another to let them know that we didn't know what to expect," says Griselda Saucedo, secretary of the parish, where the volunteer-run food bank operates out of.

"We have extra volunteers here just to make sure that everyone, if they have any questions, to calm their nerves, just so we have extra smiling faces here to help those in need."

By mid-morning, it was clear to Saucedo that there was an uptick of people visiting

See Full Page