TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV\/Gray Florida Capital Bureau) – Thousands of Florida families face empty classrooms and reduced food assistance next week if the federal government shutdown continues.<\/p>\n
Head Start programs across north Florida will shut down until Congress restores funding, leaving low-income families without critical early childhood education services. Nearly 3 million Florida families also face delays in receiving SNAP food assistance benefits scheduled for November 1.<\/p>\n
\u201cNovember is going to be a tough month,\u201d said Cindy Huddleston, Florida Policy Institute senior policy analyst.<\/p>\n
The federal government shut down on October 1 after Congress failed to pass a funding plan, straining programs people rely on.<\/p>\n
Darryl James, Head Start director at Capital Area Community Action Agency in Tallahassee, oversees Head Start programs across north Florida. His programs will close next week due to a lack of funding.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith no Head Start, we have a whole low-income community not being prepared for school, so this is a very important program,\u201d James said.<\/p>\n
Head Start promotes school readiness in low-income families through a two-generational approach that serves both children and parents.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t work with families because Head Start is definitely a two-generational approach. We don\u2019t just work with the children, we also work with the families,\u201d James said.<\/p>\n
More Florida politics:<\/p>\n
SNAP benefits will not be distributed on November 1 as scheduled. The Florida Department of Children and Families says the nearly 3 million families will receive their November benefits when the government reopens.<\/p>\n
With no end in sight to the second-longest shutdown in history, Huddleston expressed concern about the impact on food security.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a very serious problem that\u2019s going to affect Florida immediately,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd this is also going to put a terrible strain on food banks and food pantries that have already been struggling to meet the need. When November 1st hits, I don\u2019t know if they\u2019re going to be able to at all fill in that gap.\u201d<\/p>\n
James called on Congress to act quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease do what you have to do to get the government back open, because you\u2019re really affecting a lot of people, especially people in the low-income community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Trump administration has allocated $300 million to keep the WIC program running for now.<\/p>\n
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