The clock is ticking and time is running out to prevent a potential government shutdown.
On Friday, a short-term funding bill to keep the government open failed to pass in the House.
U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine weighed in on the looming shutdown.
[New River Valley farmers prepare for potential government shutdown]
In a joint statement, the senators said: “In Virginia, over 127-thousand women and children are at risk of not receiving vital nutrition assistance during a government shutdown. We can and should prevent this from happening by passing a bipartisan bill to fund the government as soon as possible.”
To make matters worse, nonprofit donations are down about 25%.
“Congress must find a bipartisan solution to prevent this shutdown but they shouldn’t do so on the backs of kids and families around the country who are struggling to make ends meet.”
On a national scale, an estimated 7 million moms and kids will lose access to WIC benefits within days.
Another area for concern, a government shutdown would cause farmers to lose access to important information on products.
While experts said they can’t put a number on how much this will impact food supplies, they said the longer the shutdown goes on, the more the everyday person will be affected.