American consumers struggling to access food assistance payments due to the government shutdown are unable to fill their shopping carts, and that's "hurtful," according to the company behind Stop & Shop and Food Lion grocery stores.

The US government needs to quickly find a solution to the longest government shutdown on record "because it's very painful for people that nutritional support is no longer there," said Frans Muller, CEO of Ahold Delhaize, in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

While Ahold hasn't seen a drop in sales due to the issues affecting the program that provides support to millions of low-income households, they are monitoring the situation closely, Muller added, speaking after the Dutch retailer reported a 1.9% increase in US sales in constant currency during the third quarter.

Ahold Delhaize, which also owns Giant Food and Hannaford stores, generates about 60% of its annual sales in the US. The Trump administration said Monday that it would comply with a court order to fund November's food assistance benefits, but only at 50% of the amount that eligible households typically receive. More than 42 million people in the US rely on support through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, according to government data. (alg)

Source: Bloomberg