Food aid for more than 40 million Americans is at risk of expiring at week's end. Republican leaders in Congress said it’s all or nothing Wednesday as they rejected a Democratic push for a temporary fix.

An average of 41.7 million people, or 12.3 % of the U.S. population, received SNAP benefits each month in Fiscal Year 2024, according to the USDA. October 2025 reports indicate that about 42 million Americans participate in SNAP monthly.

Many food pantries in the Philadelphia region said they're serving more people now than at the height of the pandemic amid the government shutdown.

The government shutdown has stretched into its fifth week, putting SNAP food assistance at risk for millions of Americans. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., joins The Weeknight with the latest.

All 43 Democratic state legislators in Florida asked Gov. Ron DeSantis to declare a state of emergency ahead of the impending expiration of SNAP benefits.

"Now we'll have to prioritize which bills we can pay and which can wait," said one mother of two about a looming freeze in food aid.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits may not go out on Nov. 1 because of the federal government shutdown.