After 30 days of gridlock, the U.S. federal government is still shut down. Currently, the second-longest shutdown in the country’s history, one of its various effects was a lack of support for federally funded food aid programs for the first time in their history. Serving over 40 million people nationwide, food aid programs go by many names: electric benefit transfer, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, food stamps and here in California, CalFresh. The Trump administration asserted that it would not tap into the emergency reserve established by Congress to address any crises with the anti-hunger service. Federal Judge John J. McConnell Jr. ruled that the Trump administration had acted unlawfully by refusing to tap into that reserve and that the SNAP benefits must be paid out.  Funds not yet used on SNAP accounts will stay accessible, and the November funds that have been ordered to be disbursed will roll over whenever the government reopens or if the administration decides to...