LITTLE CHUTE - As the federal government shutdown drags on, food banks across Wisconsin are bracing for an increase in the number of people who need help finding their next meal.

Patti Habeck, president of Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, which has warehouses in Little Chute and Milwaukee, said if the shutdown isn't resolved soon, her organization will plan on seeing more people looking for help. Thousands of federal employees in Wisconsin have already gone weeks without pay.

“We’ll be making sure that we have extra food prepared and ready to go out to the pantries,” she said.

Federal employees aren’t the only people who could struggle to pay for food because of the government shutdown. Funding for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program could have run out at the end of the month, Habeck said. However, on Tuesday evening the Trump administration said the program will be funded through February should the government shutdown continue.

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In fiscal year 2015, that program, commonly known as food stamps, gave out more than $1 billion in food benefits to a monthly average of more than 800,000 people in Wisconsin.

If the shutdown continues, many Wisconsin families who rely on the program to help with the cost of food won't know whether they can count on that assistance anymore.

“That adds extra stress on families who are already stressed not knowing what’s going to happen,” Habeck said.

In 2017, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin distributed nearly 28 million pounds of food to more than 600 food pantries, meal programs and emergency shelters in 36 counties across eastern Wisconsin.

Despite that, food banks in the state couldn't possibly make up for the loss of food stamp benefits, said David Lee, executive director of Feeding Wisconsin, which advocates for the state's Feeding America food banks.

"We just can’t bridge the kind of gap that we’re talking about,” he said.

At the moment, food banks can only wait to see what happens along with everyone else and prepare the best they can, Lee said.

“There is going to be a lot of pressure on the charitable food system in our state,” he said.

The timing couldn't be much worse. The amount of food being donated typically declines after the holiday season, Habeck said. The inventory at Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is in good shape, she said, but they're still making efforts to bring in more food in anticipation of higher demand.

This isn't the first time the government has shut down, but the length of time that has already passed — and the potential for more — makes this situation different, Habeck said.

“This is new,” she said. “This one has lasted longer and it’s the first time we’re talking about the possibility of a prolonged shutdown.”