SNAP benefits are running dry for American families, and that hits home for the founders of Toasted Bagels & Coffee in Seattle.

As the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) faces a November 1 cutoff amid the ongoing government shutdown, leaders in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia are stepping up to help low-income families who rely on the aid to put food on the table.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — more commonly known as SNAP, or food stamps — is a key benefits program that serves more than 40 million people across the country. Now, the shutdown is threatening to suspend benefits, raising concerns over where millions of people who rely on the program will turn to for food.

Saturday’s looming deadline to fund the government or risk more than 40 million people losing their food benefits is increasing pressure on both parties to end the government shutdown. President Donald Trump returns to Washington on Thursday afternoon following a weeklong tour of Asia that saw him personally removed from the shutdown talks.

Democrats are working to balance their health care demands and find solutions for SNAP, with Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Luján on Wednesday introducing legislation that would direct the USDA to release available contingency funds to ensure benefits under SNAP and the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program continue during the shutdown.

The nation has now reached one month under the federal government shutdown, and the stalemate on Capitol Hill has halted benefits for millions of Americans under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The government shutdown has frozen SNAP funding for 42 million Americans. Food banks warn shelves are emptying fast as states struggle to fill the gap.