Summer Kerksick waited in line for two hours Tuesday to obtain a field of canned and dry items at a food financial institution occasion for federal workers amid the ongoing government shutdown.
“With my rent due next week, I can take anything I can get,” Kerksick, a federal contractor and market analysis analyst with the Rural Export Center in the US Department of Commerce, informed NCS.
“I haven’t gotten a paycheck this month, so the free groceries is very important, very helpful,” she added as she stood exterior the occasion, which was organized by a DC food financial institution and a neighborhood spiritual group. “I’ve got to save every dime at this point.”
Kerksick is amongst the roughly 1.4 million federal staff who’ve been furloughed or at the moment are working with out pay.
Lawmakers have but to achieve an settlement to pay federal workers. GOP Sen. Ron Johnson launched a invoice that will solely pay those that are being requested to proceed working by the weekslong shutdown, whereas Democrats are pushing for all federal workers to be paid.
Capital Area Food Bank, which partnered with No Limits Outreach Ministries to host Tuesday’s occasion in Landover, Maryland, mentioned it served greater than 370 households — greater than double the variety of federal workers it was anticipating. The occasion required federal staff to point out their work ID to obtain food.
“I’m overwhelmed by the line,” mentioned Oliver Carter, the pastor at No Limits Outreach Ministries and organizer of the occasion. “I didn’t think we were going to have this many federal employees.”
Carter’s spouse, Pamelia Carter, works at the Department of Agriculture and has labored in the federal authorities for 38 years and seen a number of shutdowns.
“I’ve run into quite a few coworkers here,” Pamelia Carter, the govt director of No Limits Outreach Ministries, informed NCS, including that the Tuesday’s occasion was “different” than the food outreach occasions the spiritual group hosts each Friday. “There are at least 2 to 300 people in this line that we’re servicing today, federal employees. It’s mind-boggling.”
“I’m glad we’re at least able to do this because people have to eat. They have to feed their families, so this alone is a blessing,” she added.
Rolanda Williams, who works in the Social Security Administration, informed NCS, “I can’t believe I’m here.”
“You always thought that getting a government job or you know, a federal job, that that’s security, and it’s not,” Williams added.
Williams mentioned at first, she didn’t suppose she would want the help of a food financial institution however as the shutdown drags on, she wants the assist.
“Initially, I was like, well I’d rather let people that have kids, you know, go to the food banks so that everyone could have food because I was okay,” Williams informed NCS. “But now … it’s like I need to stand in line too.”