With more than a million people in Massachusetts at risk of losing their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits on Saturday, Boston is looking for ways to head off the crisis.

The SNAP benefits, also known as food stamps, will not be issued in full on November 1 as scheduled because of the government shutdown, which began on October 1. 

Mayor Michelle Wu announced a new partnership between the Boston Foundation and the city at a news conference earlier that morning. They're launching a fund for emergency support to help residents pay for groceries.

About 16-percent of people in Massachusetts rely on SNAP benefits each month, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Nationally, it's about 12-percent. Wu said 140,000 Boston residents, many of them seniors, families and those with disabilities, could lose their benefits Saturday.

"In our city, food isn't a bargaining chip. It's a human right," the mayor told reporters at City Hall. "We know we can't close the entire gap, but we will do everything in our power to get support to folks who need it."

Wu said that the gap in need is something that only the federal government can fill, but they are trying to provide relief. 

"In Boston, everybody eats," Wu said. 

Food pantries bracing for the worst

Food pantries across the Greater Boston area are making sure their shelves are fully stocked in anticipation of the cuts. 

"We are bracing for an avalanche. We're bracing for just a massive increase more than we have ever seen during COVID," said Rachel Plummer, who works at the Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee Food Pantry.

The food pantry said it has seen a nearly 100% increase in requests for support within the last month.

"We are hoping the resources for food will last a bit longer. Hopefully through the shutdown, but we're not sure," Plummer said. 

Judge orders backup funds to be used for SNAP

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP, said it won't release about $5 billion in contingency funds to keep the money flowing to the food stamp program. The agency blamed Democrats for failing to back a bill to fund the government.  

On Friday, a judge ordered the government to use the backup funds to keep paying partial SNAP benefits amid the ongoing shutdown. The U.S. District Court of the District of Massachusetts Judge Indira Talwani told the government that they have until Monday to tell the court if they plan to use the contingency funds. 

"The Secretary of Agriculture will be in violation of the law and in violation of a court order directly ordering the distribution of this funding for the poorest in our country," Senator Ed Markey said.   

Massachusetts is one of 25 states that are suing the Trump administration in federal court in Boston to keep the benefits intact for November.  

For more information on how to find food assistance or make donations in Massachusetts, click here.