The announcement that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits wouldn’t be distributed in November rippled through Maine, where tens of thousands of households rely on assistance for food. The news has prompted leaders at all levels of government in Maine to call on the federal government to distribute the benefits to avoid a crisis for recipients.

With roughly 170,000 Mainers about to lose federal food assistance and, in the absence of a state contingency plan, dozens of legislators are calling on the federal government to release emergency funds.

Maine business owners are stepping in to help support community members who are struggling to feed their families with SNAP funds expected to cease Nov. 1.

SNAP recipients in Maine and across the country did not receive benefits Saturday as the government shutdown, now the second-longest in United States history, rolls on. In Maine, there are more than 170,

Federal food assistance for nearly 170,000 Mainers is likely to halt next week due to the government shutdown. Some local businesses are stepping in to provide free food and supplies to fill the gap.

Of the total pledged, $1 million will come from the governor's contingency account, with the John T. Gorman Foundation contributing $250,000 to supplement food supplies for Maine households.

As thousands of Mainers prepare to face a month without their SNAP benefits, area businesses are stepping up to help ensure nobody goes hungry.

Sen. Craig Hickman, an organic farmer, says the state 'must act quickly' to cover the anticipated loss of federal food assistance for 170,000 Mainers.

An estimated 12.5% of Maine’s population rely on SNAP benefits, though that percentage is higher in Androscoggin, Aroostook, Washington, Piscataquis and Somerset counties.

Americans are being stripped of their grocery budget benefits — financial support provided by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — on Saturday, Nov. 1.

Two separate federal judges in New England have ruled that the Trump administration must continue paying federal SNAP benefits, even during the shutdown.