By Sarah Ladd

Kentucky Lantern

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is sending the National Guard to staff food banks while more than 600,000 in the state await federal food assistance during the ongoing government shutdown.

This comes days after Beshear sent $5 million from the state’s “rainy day fund” to Feeding Kentucky, a network of food banks, and tasked the organization with buying more food during delays in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

In October, 645,461 used SNAP benefits to buy groceries in Kentucky. Those people are turning to food banks, which were already stretched thin in meeting the needs of a state with high rates of food insecurity and are now seeing even more visitors.

“What this means is that every dollar we’re providing to the food banks c

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