A plan announced Monday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide partial food stamp benefits for November during the ongoing government shutdown could offer a measure of relief to millions of Americans.

Food banks and hunger relief organizations are seeing an increase in the number of people lining up for food packages since SNAP benefits were halted on Nov. 1.

None of this is normal. Food-stamp benefits have never been cut like this in the current program’s more-than-60-year history. “It is a significant inflection point in the program’s history,” Christopher Bosso, a political scientist at Northeastern University who wrote a book on SNAP, told me. “Where we go from here is anyone’s guess.”

The Agriculture Department will use $4.65 billion in emergency funds to partially restart food aid programs halted by the government shutdown. Mill

Posters have circulated on social media claiming several restaurant chains are offering free meals to SNAP recipients.

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."

The action comes two days after states sued the federal agency that administers SNAP benefits. Funds were set to stop flowing Saturday.

What to know as the shutdown persists