Families on SNAP worry about not just feeding themselves but also their pets

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An owner surrendered cat is seen at the New Leash On Life animal shelter, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, in Lebanon, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

NEW ORLEANS – Sarah Lungwitz has fretted over feeding not just her two teenage daughters with SNAP payments disrupted, but her family's cat and two dogs.

Help has arrived for now, she says, after an Illinois nonprofit arranged for volunteers to give her a grocery gift card last week to buy food for herself and her pets. It's among the growing efforts to help struggling pet owners stretch their dollars amid as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payments go out late during a government shutdown that is the longest on record.

“I don’t even make enough money for all my bill