The funds are intended to strengthen Maine’s food pantries and hunger relief programs as federal food aid stops during the shutdown.

The announcement that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits wouldn’t be distributed in November rippled through Maine, where tens of thousands of households rely on assistance for food. The news has prompted leaders at all levels of government in Maine to call on the federal government to distribute the benefits to avoid a crisis for recipients.

Two separate federal judges in New England have ruled that the Trump administration must continue paying federal SNAP benefits, even during the shutdown.

RSU 57 and MSAD 20 are holding districtwide food drives to help students and families in need as federal funding for food-assistance aid is expected to run out.

With roughly 170,000 Mainers about to lose federal food assistance and, in the absence of a state contingency plan, dozens of legislators are calling on the federal government to release emergency funds.

In total, Maine DHHS says nearly 12.5 percent of Maine’s population receive SNAP benefits, with several counties – Androscoggin, Aroostook, Piscataquis, Somerset, and Washington – approaching or surpassing 20 percent of their populations.

Of the total pledged, $1 million will come from the governor's contingency account, with the John T. Gorman Foundation contributing $250,000 to supplement food supplies for Maine households.

Sen. Craig Hickman, an organic farmer, says the state 'must act quickly' to cover the anticipated loss of federal food assistance for 170,000 Mainers.

This money is expected to help provide food for the nearly 170,000 Maine residents who rely on SNAP benefits, as funding will not be available in November due to the federal government shutdown.