As the controversy over funding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) during the government shutdown dragged on in recent days, the top official in charge of the program pivoted to a new talking point, calling the program that some 42 million Americans rely on, "corrupt."

President Donald Trump said Tuesday his administration will only pay SNAP benefits to families in need once the federal government shutdown ends. But that didn't mean payments have stopped going out entirely.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the Trump administration would be "fully complying" with a federal judge's order to pay out SNAP benefits with contingency funds. This clarification came after President Trump posted on social media that the benefits would only be given out once the government shutdown had ended.

A woman in New York State who voted for President Donald Trump says she regrets her vote after the federal government shutdown disrupted Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Betty Szretter, 63, is a caregiver for her daughter who relies on SNAP.

Propel makes a free app for people on food stamps. Now it's giving some of them $50 each, as some private companies, nonprofits, and individuals scramble to help.

There's some confusion about SNAP benefits because the president just posted that they will only be given out when the ‘radical left Democrats’ open the government and not before."

Under most circumstances, I’d shrug and move on. But as my fourth-grade son struggles to gain weight after treatment for a rare, deadly disease, I can’t keep my mouth shut.

Reporters from the NPR Network are covering the uncertainty and lapse in benefits in states across the country.