WASHINGTON, Oct 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Saturday that food benefits under one of the country's biggest social assistance programs will not be issued next month amid the ongoing federal government shutdown.

Democratic leaders from 25 states are suing the USDA over the looming suspension of SNAP benefits, which is set to begin Nov. 1 because of the government shutdown.

The USDA “has broken the law in a way that will create really severe consequences for a lot of vulnerable people,” AG Jeff Jackson said.

A now-deleted contingency plan showed the U.S. Department of Agriculture once expected to keep food assistance funded during a government shutdown — before reve

Dept. of Agriculture for cutting off food assistance to over 42 million Americans during the government shutdown. “Congress put a rainy-day fund in place so nutrition support could continue,” says Minnesota AG Keith Ellison.

New York Attorney General Letitia James has joined a lawsuit accusing the federal government of illegally planning to pause food assistance benefits amid the government shutdown.

Idaho food banks lost out on 370,000 pounds of food shipments from May through September due to massive cuts to The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), according to USDA records obtained by ProPublica.

This spring, the U.S. Department of Agriculture canceled thousands of orders, accounting for millions of pounds of food, meant for low-income Americans. Orders totaling more than 370,000 pounds of U.S.

NC Attorney General Jeff Jackson is taking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to court, accusing the agency of illegally withholding more than $230 million in monthly food assistance for 1.4 million North Carolinians.