The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families says it is being forced to stop processing SNAP benefits due to the government shutdown. 

If the federal shutdown lasts to November, Minnesota's Department of Children, Youth, and Families said benefits from food assistance programs like SNAP will no longer be issued. The state agency said that will be the case if there's no further guidance from the government.

It means more than 440,000 Minnesotans could be impacted. Nationwide, 42 million people rely on SNAP benefits to help pay for their food. 

On Thursday, people who work with families in need called on lawmakers to end the shutdown.

Members of the AFSCME union who help those in need of food assistance say the federal government has put them in an impossible position. Workers say they take calls every day from people who need food assistance just to survive. They shared that message Thursday morning at the Hennepin County Government Center.

They say feeding families is not a policy debate, but a moral responsibility. They're asking federal lawmakers to come together to negotiate a bill in order to save lives.

"We are being forced to look at parents, seniors and children in the eye and tell them that we cannot issue their benefits, not because they did anything wrong, but because Washington, D.C., has failed them," Yunuen Brown, who works with people to help them receive benefits, said.  

They're also asking the Department of Children, Youth, and Families to communicate with food assistance recipients in ways accessible for everyone — not just texts and emails, but also through mail.

"It's really sad when people are calling and they're telling us that they're scared, they don't know where their next meal is going to come from. People have applied for benefits, we can't tell them when we might be able to get their case processed," said Kenneth Winslow Garnier, who works in health and human services.  

For the latest information and resources for those seeking food assistance, click here.