Federal employees showing up to food banks in the hundreds as shutdown enters fourth week

[left-of-center2012]

Federal employees affected by the government shutdown are reportedly turning to local food banks to get through the ongoing funding lapse, which is headed into its fourth week.

The Capital Area Food Bank, D.C.’s largest food aid group, organized five pop-up food distribution centers for government employees in recent days. About 200 people showed up to one of the centers on Saturday to pick up bags of produce and canned foods, according to NPR. Over the weekend, the Capital Area Food Bank gave away 30,000 pounds in fresh produce.

Radha Muthiah, the food bank’s president and CEO, told NPR that the workers are “just worried about where to get their food. It's hard for a lot of people."

The Capital Area Food Bank primarily helps people near or below the poverty line, but has expanded its services in response to the shutdown and said it would do so until the government reopens, NPR reported.

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/425108-federal-employees-showing-up-to-food-banks-in-the-hundreds-as

[left-of-center2012]

1. Food Pantries Help Federal Workers, Coast Guard Amid Shutdown

Food pantries across the country are working to help federal employees who missed a paycheck on Friday due to the ongoing partial government shutdown, including one in Boston that has helped hundreds of U.S. Coast Guard families so far.

This week, the Massachusetts Military Foundation set up a pop-up pantry specifically for families of the Coast Guard, which is the only military branch currently working without pay. Almost 400 families stopped by in the first two days to take advantage of the 30,000 pounds of free food, according to NPR.

A food pantry in Lawrence, Kansas, decided to waive its poverty guidelines so that struggling federal employees could get a week of free groceries.

Portland, Oregon, food pantry William Temple House is also prepared to help as many federal workers as it can. The nonprofit also expects an influx of people needing food if the government doesn’t provide Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits due to the shutdown. The government has only guaranteed food stamps through February.

The Coast Guard posted a memo online earlier this week offering stinging financial advice to its furloughed workers: holding garage sales, finding a babysitting gig or dog-walking for cash. Officials removed the memo Wednesday after The Washington Post asked about the financial advice

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/coast-guard-federal-workers-food-pantry-government-shutdown_us_5c3918a2e4b0e0baf53d78de

[badhair77]

2. The ripple effect is the loss of business to grocery stores.

No man is an island.

[womanofthehills]

3. Grocery stores near National Monuments also suffer - double wammy because of no tourists

The closest small town to me has just over 800 people and is surrounded by three pueblo missions. The mayor of our small town of Mountainair just posted that anyone effected by the shutdown can have extra time to pay their water and gas bills. Our grocery store is just barely making it (next closest grocery over 40 miles away) and so the lack of tourists coming through our town is having an effect on our small downtown businesses.

Also, the Pueblo Missions Staff planned 4 speaking events for February. All up in the air.