On October 1, 2025, the U.S. government shut down after Congress failed to pass the 12 annual appropriations bills or a stopgap funding resolution. That shutdown lasted 43 days, the longest in U.S.

The shutdown brought the scale of the federal food aid program into focus and raised questions about how such a rich country could have so many people on nutrition assistance. By David W. Chen The ...

Food banks are scrambling to keep up with a continued surge in demand as Bay Area families are still recovering from lapses in federal food benefits triggered by the government shutdown. The need ...