HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Applications are now being accepted for the new Hawaii Relief Program , which gives housing and utility assistance to low-income families in financial crisis who have at least one dependent child under the age of 18.

Gov. Josh Green speaks during Kuhinia Maui Midday Gathering at the Maui County Building in Wailuku. Green announced today that he will provide residents with children up to four months of federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funding worth $100 million through the new Hawaiʻi Relief Program

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) Board of Trustees today approved $6.1 million in emergency funding for Native Hawaiian beneficiaries impacted by the shutdown of the federal government and the potential suspension of SNAP benefits on November 1.

While the state government formalizes its plans to help SNAP recipients, local assistance organizations are stepping up, too.

That would leave about 85,000 households in Hawaii scrambling to put food on the table.