A Birmingham business owner celebrated her birthday by helping those affected by the government shutdown Tuesday.

Charnita Horton partnered with a dozen food trucks to give out free food. The line was wrapped around the block, with more than 300 people.

“I remember being in college and I had [SNAP benefits] for 10 days,” she said, “but I remember being young and my mom — we used to have WIC. We had to survive.”

With the end of the government shutdown nowhere in sight , more than 700,000 Alabamians like Keyosha Brackens are left wondering where their next meal is coming from. She’s figured out how to get creative and make her benefits stretch, but the help could still be useful.

“I kind of manage mine in a certain kind of way,” she said. “I shop at some stores for certain things and s

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