In Texas, recipients receive an average of $379 a month in Lone Star Card benefits to use at grocery stores, according to Feeding America. Many recipients are employed but earn below the federal poverty level, making SNAP a critical source of food assistance for working households.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — more commonly known as SNAP, or food stamps — is a key benefits program that serves more than 40 million people across the country. Now, the shutdown is threatening to suspend benefits, raising concerns over where millions of people who rely on the program will turn to for food.

Federal funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is set to expire on Nov. 1. Here are ways you can help those struggling with food insecurity.

More Americans are turning to food banks to help fill the assistance gap, but administrators caution they aren't designed to act as a safety net for a government program.

Lawmakers in Louisiana approved a resolution Wednesday to allow the state's Department of Health to use up to $150 million in funding for some people who would normally receive SNAP benefits.

In Pennsylvania, SNAP provides more than $366 million in benefits to about two million families, including 713,000 children.

Hundreds of thousands of Iowans will not receive SNAP benefits Nov. 1 as food pantries already are serving record numbers of clients.

More than 40 million Americans are waiting for a ruling in an eleventh-hour lawsuit before SNAP funding freezes on Saturday. Follow Newsweek's live blog for the latest updates.