Hoosiers eligible for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits now have access to partial funds on their EBT cards. Why it matters: More than 600,000 Hoosiers depend on federal assistance to afford food.

There has been insufficient funding to pay the entirety of November SNAP benefits, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This is due to the ongoing federal shutdown, which became the longest in U.S. history on Nov. 5.

Some small grocery stores and neighborhood convenience stores are eager for the U.S. government shutdown to end and for their customers to start receiving federal food aid again.

In September, 9,557 households in Vanderburgh County received SNAP benefits. That breaks down to 18,737 individuals.

A tentative agreement in the U.S. Senate to reopen the federal government could mean food aid benefits will resume soon.

The availability of food aid for 42 million low-income Americans remained in question on Monday as legal wrangling over the benefits continued even as lawmakers took steps toward ending the record-long government shutdown.

Even though the longest government shutdown in history may be nearing an end​, there is still a lot of uncertainty for food stamp recipients.

Georgia SNAP recipients are finally receiving food assistance for the first time since the government shutdown began. Channel 2 investigative reporter Ashli Lincoln has been speaking with recipients since the shutdown began. She learned that some people picked up extra jobs and relied on food banks to keep food on the table.