While the longest government shutdown in history is over, the impact will linger for families who depend upon the government for food.

The work stoppage impacted nearly 200,000 Long Island residents who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.

What is normally a lot is not enough this time around

An annual tradition now has new urgency. Stew Leonard's donated 3,000 turkeys to two dozen charities, but the cry for help has grown.

"We could have given away 10 times the number of turkeys. The phone was literally ringing off the hook," Stew Leonard Jr. said Thursday.

The amount the store chain did give out was a drop in the bucket of need that grew even deeper when SNAP benefits were delayed for 40 million Americans.

To bridge the gap, Gov. Kathy Hochul made $100 million in state funding available for food stamp recipients and to help food banks keep up with demand. However, the week and a half when recipients had no money on their food cards will have a lasting ripple effect.

"In New York, the average SNAP benefit is $250 for an individual. Imagine not getting $250 in your biweekly paycheck. That is a major hit for probably everyone living on Long Island, if not most of us," said Gregory May, of the Island Harvest Food Bank.

Hunger problems will persist, food bank official says

Katherine Fritz, the president of Long Island Cares, said demand is up 20% in just one month.

"When you're hungry and you have no way to get food, you're going to stay hungry. There is not a way to retroactively pay you and [say] don't worry about the hunger you had last week," Fritz said.

Long Island Cares helped people locate pantries, but SNAP feeds more people than all of the island's food banks combined.

"To not know how you're going to feed your family for one day can feel like an eternity. If you need these benefits to put food on the table, nine or 10 days is an eternity as well," Fritz said.

"They're all guilty"  

Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine said there is plenty of blame to go around.

"They're all guilty. Government should not shut down. Government is there to operate and serve people. When it fails, people get hurt and most likely the people most in need get hurt," Romaine said.

SNAP is now only funded through the end of the current fiscal year. Recipients and agencies are worried about having to go through this all over again next year.