Canceled school events, growing lines at military food pantries, accumulating fears tied to missed paychecks and the potential need for loans to stay afloat — US military families are already feeling the impacts of the government shutdown that is stretching into its second week and are preparing for worse days ahead.

While most Americans are largely removed from the direct repercussions of a shutdown, military families are facing sharp disruptions to lives already burdened with the significant sacrifice that comes with serving.

“We should never put our troops in this position,” one military spouse, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution for voicing their concerns, told CNN. “We should never put their families in this position. The economy for military spouses is tough enough as it is.”

Service members did receive a paycheck on October 1, but with Congress seemingly still gridlocked, families are figuring out how they’ll cope if their pay doesn’t arrive on October 15 as scheduled.

In the last week, military children have already seen after-school programs and activities canceled en masse due to the slowing of federal funds to military schools, disrupting any sense of relative normalcy those families depend on, two of the sources told CNN.

“All activities, even homework club, which some kids absolutely need to maintain the