The Shutdown Is Over, but Its Damage Is Not

The longest-ever government shutdown ended on November 12, but Deairra Tracey is still scared.

The disabled mother of three from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, had to visit food banks and skip meals so that her children could eat after the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program abruptly stopped paying out benefits on November 1. After running out of money to buy milk and watching her refrigerator go bare as Congress held a series of failed votes on a funding bill, Tracey told me, she now lives in fear that the federal aid she receives could be cut off again. She is filling her freezer with low-cost items and stocking up on nonperishables in case Congress closes the government again next year.

“I’m going to make sure I have everything that I need to make sure my children are good,” she said.