SNAP Benefits Could Begin Running Dry On Saturday

(AP) – Federal funds could begin running dry Saturday that help tens of millions of Americans to buy food for their families and send their toddlers to preschool if Congress doesn’t reach a deal by then to end the U.S. government shutdown.  Funding for another program that helps mothers care for their newborns could run out the following week.  Barring a resolution to the shutdown, the U.S. will have a gaping hole in its safety net, particularly for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps about one in eight Americans buy groceries.  The Trump administration said Friday that it won’t use a roughly $5 billion contingency fund to keep food aid flowing in November in the government shutdown, but a new lawsuit by Democratic state officials Tuesday seeks to uncork the emergency money — enough to pay for the benefits for more than half a month — or another larger fund.