Videos shared on social media showed Americans lining up for free meals, sparking fears of a โno food aid Novemberโ after several states warned that these benefits may not be distributed next month.
Unpaid federal workers including military families were seen in long queues waiting outside food banks in California, Maryland, Arizona and Texas as the US shutdown entered fourth week on Friday.
Videos shared on social media showed Americans lining up for free meals, sparking fears of a โno food aid Novemberโ after several states warned that these benefits may not be distributed next month.
Americans stand in queue to collect free food
These videos showed dozens of Americans standing in a winding queue to collect free meal benefits, reportedly filmed in Landover, Maryland.
Many social media users also claimed that the people in line were federal employees as over 700,000 federal workers furloughed, nearly as many working without pay as the US government shutdown continues.
Several states warn of disruption in benefits for 41 million Americans
Several states, including Minnesota, California, Pennsylvania and Texas, have also warned of a possible disruption in benefits for over 41 million Americans who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps.
In the meantime, economists stated that a prolonged shutdown of the government in the United States could impact the economic growth. Experts also estimated that the shutdown was shaving 0.1 to 0.2 percentage points off annualised inflation-adjusted gross domestic product growth per week.