MADERA COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- The 43-day government shutdown and the pause of funding for food assistance programs like SNAP impacted millions across the country.

Food banks, including the one serving Madera County, are seeing the need firsthand, saying their phones have been ringing nonstop since the end of October with families asking for emergency food boxes.

Wednesday night, the government reopened, and the Madera County Social Services office confirmed that people approved for SNAP benefits are once again receiving those benefits.

It's a move bringing relief to food banks, helping fill the gap.

Executive Director Ryan McWherter says the need overall remains at an all-time high, "We really did step up to the plate, ramped it up and did what we could do as a food bank."

"I'm a s

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