She had it figured down to the last dollar. The looming insurance payment, balanced against the hard-earned paycheck. The cost of keeping her children fed, covered mostly with government SNAP assistance. And when Shelby Williams reviewed the family budget for November, she told herself that this month would truly be one for giving thanks.
After living with her parents for more than two years, Williams and her two children were finally moving into an apartment of their own in her hometown of Reeds Spring, Missouri. They would celebrate with a Thanksgiving meal made by the kids, the grandparents joining them at the table.
The funds for the needed groceries were all lined up — until the federal government shut down on Oct. 1.
Now Washington is running again. But as Americans prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday, the relieved gratitude of families in Williams’ community, and the many others still recovering from the suspension of government paychecks and food assistance during the 43-day shutdown, is tempered by lingering stress and economic insecurity.
“I’m thankful for my children and my job, and I’m thankful for SNAP because it supplies food,” said Williams, 32, who works as a paraprofessional in an elementary school. “But … with the way the world is, with the financial strain, it is hard to be thankful.”