Cities, nonprofits, and governmental organizations scrambled Tuesday morning to learn if their funding was part of a massive freeze on trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans by President Donald Trump.

The Office of Management and Budget at the White House sent a vaguely worded two-page memo to all federal agencies Monday night directing them to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance” that might be in conflict with Trump’s agenda.

However, which agencies would be affected and in what capacity was not clear and caused confusion and panic as many federal programs provide assistance for the most vulnerable and low-income Americans.

“We don’t have enough information at this time to say with 100 percent certainty,” said Southeast Valley School Superintendent Brian Johnson. “But if it does, not only will we not let kids go hungry, but according to state regulations passed a few years ago, it would be illegal to deny them a meal.”

Johnson’s rural Webster County school district has 494 students that qualify for free and reduced meal benefits through the federal government — that’s 46 percent of his student body that receives free and reduced breakfast and lunches funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Webster County Health Department’s WIC Program Coordinator Emma Bayus said Tuesday afternoon that the agency was still waiting for guidance from the state as to how they will proceed. The National WIC Association later posted to Facebook stating “WIC benefits are still available, and WIC offices remain open. Please continue using your benefits, going to your appointments, and accessing services as usual.”

Iowa Central Community College started the spring semester three weeks ago with federal student loans scheduled to be released to students and institutions within the first 30 days of classes beginning. The pause panicked students nationwide who were concerned about not having access to promised funds for spring semester tuition.

Iowa Central President Jesse Ulrich learned Tuesday afternoon that student loans and Pell Grants would not be affected by the federal freeze, however, they are still awaiting word on many other grants and programs, including those that care for vulnerable students.

“As the college learns more, we will communicate directly with the programs that may be affected,” said Ulrich.

City and county administrators are also awaiting guidance on what funding they have been promised from Washington D.C. will be affected.

“The city relies on federal grants in addition to state grants funded by the federal government to support various programs and initiatives,” said David Fierke, Fort Dodge city manager. “We are actively gathering information and working closely with relevant stakeholders to fully understand the potential impact and determine the best course of action during the temporary pause.”

“As you can imagine, we’re just hearing about this this morning,” said Webster County Supervisor Niki Conrad. “We have a call out to Representative Feenstra’s office in the hopes of providing more guidance once they have it. In the meantime, it’s business as usual here at the county.”

A federal judge temporarily halted the funding freeze until at least Feb. 3 to allow for arguments to be made in court as to the potential harms caused by the freeze. The situation, however, remains fluid as the funding for low-income home energy and rental assistance, health care, Meals on Wheels, federal work-study grants for college students, Head Start, and more remain in limbo.

A memo released by OMB late Tuesday did state that Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and SNAP food benefits “will continue without pause.”