Government shutdown effects bear down on millions more people after a crucial Nov. 1 deadline passes

As the federal government shutdown passes the one-month mark, a new round of impacts will soon hit millions of Americans on Saturday

As the federal government shutdown passes the one-month mark, a new round of impacts will soon hit millions of Americans on Saturday.

A chief concern for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in recent weeks was the impending lapse in funding for SNAP benefits, colloquially known as food stamps, for which millions of people were set to lose benefits on Saturday.

Over 40 million Americans rely on SNAP benefits to purchase food, leading to concerns from elected officials that millions could go hungry. Governors and other state leaders from dozens of states across the country have said that they will free up emergency funds in their states to temporarily assist families that usually rely on their SNAP benefits to purchase food.

A coalition of municipalities, nonprofit groups and business and union organizations sued earlier this week, requesting that a federal judge in Rhode Island force the Trump administration to use contingency funds in the U.S. Department of Agriculture to pay out SNAP benefits.

On Friday, U.S District Judge John McConnell did just that, ordering the USDA to distribute money from a contingency fund “as soon as possible,” in time for Nov. 1 SNAP payments to be made.