In a government shutdown, here are the nutrition programs affected

A government shutdown could have an immediate impact on WIC — a program that provides grocery assistance to 7 million pregnant people, mothers and children, including more than half of all newborns in the United States.

Some recipients of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children may be turned away from stores as early as next week, said Geri Henchy, director of nutrition policy at Food Research & Action Center, a nonprofit organization for eradicating hunger and undernutrition. Many families may be unaware the program stopped putting money on their electronic benefits cards and will be stranded at the grocery checkout with no way to pay, she said.