Effects of the pause will be especially widespread in Texas, which has the highest population of food insecure people in the country.

Despite rulings from two federal judges on Friday who said SNAP benefits could not be suspended for the first time in the program's 61-year history, many Texans are still likely to face payment delays.

The Central Texas Food Bank expects to spend roughly four times its monthly budget to support Austin-area SNAP recipients.

As the federal government shutdown continues, food banks across East Texas are ramping up emergency response efforts to support families who have missed paychecks and are impacted by a potential disruption in SNAP benefits.

The calls to the Republican governor came as the food stamp program was set to run out of funding amid the government shutdown.

"We've never in the 18 years of Minnie's Food Pantry being here, in the 31 million meals we've served, had to turn away a person," Chery Jackson said. "Am I concerned about it today? Absolutely."

David Macpherson, Ph.D., the Economics Department chair at Trinity University, said the loss of SNAP benefits spending will be felt by the Texas economy.

The Texas Legislative Progressive Caucus is calling on Gov. Greg Abbott to act now in using the state's Rainy Day Fund to provide funds for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as the government shutdown may cause those 3.

With SNAP delays set to begin Nov. 1 that will impact more than 3.5 million Texans, food banks in the state are bracing for a surge in need.