Let's look deeper now into the latest on food assistance and the impact of the shutdown on families who rely on that aid.

For that, I'm joined by Eric Mitchell. He's president of the Alliance to End Hunger.

Thank you for being here.

Thank you for having me.

Can we just start with this legal back and forth and all the confusion?

Is it even clear to you when those funds will be dispersed?

The shared answer is no.

I mean, they're still building this plane as they take off.

We just heard that there has been guidance issued to the states by the USDA.

I'm unclear on what the specifics of those guidance are.

I know there are states who are trying to figure it out as we speak.

All we know is that right now you have 42 million people hanging in a balance trying to figure out how they're going to put food on table. So there's a legal political fight and families caught in the crossfire. You heard some of them there in the report from Lisa. Tell me about what you're hearing from people, about what kind of decisions they're making right now, how they're getting by. When we talk to our partners who are working with folks on the ground, you're hearing stories that are similar to what you just saw on the screen. You know, mom's trying to figure out what type of food they're going to be able to afford for their kids, some having to sacrifice, you know, eating so that way they have enough to eat. Also, you know, keep in mind that this is like a thread,

you know, attached to a sweater. When a person can't afford to buy food or when those

benefits are going away, they have to replace that with something else. So they may have to make

choices that are hard to figure out. For example, how are they going to pay rent? How are

they going to cover their medical bills?

These are all the things that they are now having to figure out how to piece together now that they don't have the benefits to be able to purchase food.

Food banks, food pantries have always been the place people rely on to help fill the void.

The need has gone up. How are they managing this moment?

Food banks were already stretched in just based on the

economy and food prices going up and what have you. And this just compounds that. I mean,

you're going to have now, you know, there are longer lines that you're seeing across certain communities.

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