Right now, in the US, over 41 million people rely on SNAP benefits. If the government shutdown continues, they may not get benefits. Some states are reporting they may stop as early as November; some are even sending out alerts to recipients, to be prepared.

Hopefully those on here who rely on SNAP previously prepped food reserves.

This is bad. Those of us who don't get SNAP should still be concerned. SNAP benefits amount to about 8 billion a month. SNAP doesn't just support beneficiaries, it also supports farmers, grocers, food producers/packers, truckers and many other jobs. And hungry and/or jobless people who are pissed at their government tend to do things like riot.

In past government shut downs, they went ahead and funded the program, so they might do that again; but, there is definitely a push not to fund it, in hopes that would force a budget deal.

This post is intentionally not political. I'm not talking about left or right or who's right or wrong. I'm bringing up the fact that a lot of people could lose food benefits and the US economy could lose a bunch of revenue as early as next month - that scenario has potential consequences that you may want to prep for.

If you rely on SNAP, or have family or friends who do, this is a really good time to make a food plan.