Nearly 42 million people nationwide — including over 440,000 Minnesotans — rely on the food assistance program in limbo as the federal government shutdown stretches on.

As a result of the shutdown, benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, are delayed and possibly reduced this month.

Food shelves in Minnesota report they cannot meet the demand for food, even with Gov. Tim Walz approving one-time emergency funding of $4 million to help. For every one meal that food banks provide, SNAP provides nine of them.

MPR News rounded up what we know about how the disruption to SNAP benefits impacts Minnesotans.

First, what is SNAP and what’s going on?

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is a federal program that provides food assistance to child

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