The U.S. federal government shutdown has entered its 31st day. On Thursday, President Trump urged congressional Republicans to eliminate the Senate filibuster to pass a funding bill that would end the shutdown. Vice President JD Vance warned holiday travel could be a “disaster” if the shutdown continues. Meanwhile, food benefits for about 42 million Americans are set to expire this weekend, as the Trump administration refuses to tap into the $5 billion contingency fund for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. On Thursday, a federal judge in Boston signaled that she would order the Trump administration to fund SNAP, saying, “Congress has put money in an emergency fund, and it is hard for me to understand how this is not an emergency.” Meanwhile, several states, including Louisiana, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Virginia, have declared states of emergency to disburse state funds for food assistance programs. And several other states have boosted funding to food pantries to mitigate the looming hunger crisis.

This is R’zwan Hawkins-Jones, a sophomore at Georgia State University and recipient of SNAP benefits.

R’zwan Hawkins-Jones: “Your country is supposed to be supporting you, and the last thing you want to worry about is if you’re going to have food on your table at the end of the night. If you’re working every day, the last thing you — the main thing you want is food. You shouldn’t have to worry about all these expenses, plus if you’re going to eat or if your family is going to eat.”