Long lines have formed at food pantries across the U.S. as federal food benefits were cut off due to the government shutdown.

On the day that federal food assistance was set to expire amid the government shutdown, demand was high at pantries in Providence and Central Falls.

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego encouraged Arizonan's to support food banks during a time of uncertainty for many families.

Volunteers pack boxes of food along an assembly line at the Food Bank of the Rockies Distribution Center, the largest food bank in the region, weeks into the continuing U.S. government shutdown, in Denver, Colorado, U.S. October 22, 2025. REUTERS/Mark Makela

Nearly a month into the shutdown, food banks across the country are already straining to meet rising demand. Now, they are bracing for an even bigger surge.

Already strained by federal funding cuts earlier in the year and a surge in demand from furloughed federal workers, food banks face a fresh wave of need as SNAP benefits end Saturday.

More than 300,000 people rely on SNAP benefits in Harris County, where most of Houston is located, according to Texas Health and Human Services.

I’ve not been in this predicament ever,” one woman said. “[…] The reason I wanted to become a federal government employee was stability. That stability, that rug, if you will, has been snatched away from us.

"I never thought in a million years I'd be in line to get some food," one federal employee told ABC13 at a Houston Food Bank distribution. Many in line were receiving food assistance for the first time in their lives.

Some 42 million recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits will have to wait for them to be restored after losing them on Saturday.