The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, Oct. 28, in Boston, called a looming food aid cutoff "contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious." The Agriculture Department in a recent memo said it can't use contingency funds to pay for SNAP benefits,

Federal food assistance payments to the nation’s poorest citizens will come to a halt on Saturday, the result of the second-longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

While local food pantries like Feed My People Food Bank do not rely on SNAP benefits to operate, Executive Director Padraig Gallagher said that relationship is intricately connected.

SNAP benefits are expected to stop on November 1st, as the U.S. government shutdown continues, leaving families left scrambling to figure out how to put food on the table.

As the government shutdown hits day 28 on Oct. 28 with no end in sight, it inches closer to the end of key benefits.

The loss of SNAP benefits will mean millions of low-income Americans won’t be able to access food, and will cause ripple effects throughout the economy.