Giving Compass' Take:

• Global Citizen explains how the government shutdown has raised uncertainty about federal funding for crucial assistance programs that impact America's poorest citizens.

• In what other ways has the government shutdown impacted the economy? How should nonprofits prepare for an extended impasse?

• Read more about the impacts of the government shutdown. 

Americans who rely on assistance programs to put food on their plates and keep roofs over their heads may soon be the next victims of the government shutdown.

The government shutdown, which began on Dec. 22, is now the longest in US history — and as it drags, it’s the people who can least afford it who are suffering its consequences.

Despite the government shutdown, people living in poverty who depend on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — formerly known as food stamps — have been able to receive their benefits over the last three weeks.

They will continue to receive those benefits through February, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the government agency that administers the program, but after that, funding is uncertain.

Read the full article about the effects of the government shutdown by Daniele Selby at Global Citizen.