HOUSTON — With November SNAP benefits uncertain amid the federal shutdown and a new Supreme Court administrative stay, hundreds of cars lined up before sunrise at Northwest Assistance Ministries in north Houston for a Houston Food Bank partner distribution.

NAM said more than 1,200 families registered for the event, one of four distributions across the Houston area , on Saturday. Organizers said some arrived as early as 3:30 a.m., and more than 100 volunteers directed traffic and loaded food into trunks.

"When I got here at 7:30 in the morning, the line was all the way down Kuykendahl past 1960 to the Chick-fil-A," said Nadine Scamp, NAM's president and CEO.

Scamp said many of those seeking help had never been to a distribution before.

"There's a lot of need we're seeing here toda

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