WASHINGTON — Federal workers lined up around the corner outside the Capital Area Food Bank in southeast Washington, D.C., Friday after missing their first full paycheck since the 24-day government shutdown began.
According to Wil Stroman, a local pastor who is helping organize a food bank for federal workers every Friday until the shutdown ends.
Anthony Speight, who was laid off for the first time in 17 years as a federal employee, said he “never thought” he would be able to turn to the community for help.
“I used to be a grant administrator, a grant administrator in the federal government, giving aid, and now I'm standing in line for help,” Speight told NBC News.
If federal workers are not being paid, members of Congress should also be withheld, he said.
“The bills keep piling up. I have car bills, I have kids to feed, I have a family to take care of, I have a mortgage to pay, so there's a lot of uncertainty there,” Speight said.
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However, members of Congress continue to receive salaries during the quarantine. a handful of legislators asked to withhold their wages.
While resources like the donation-funded Capital Area Food Bank are offering some support to federal workers struggling to make ends meet, laid-off worker Pamela Lewis said going without a paycheck isn't an option without more government support.
“When you work all these years and pay taxes and help other people make money, and when you're in need, you can't get anything. And I think that's very sad for our country today,” Lewis told NBC News.
“There are a lot of people in this area who don't have any resources. They don't have a support system. People are living paycheck to paycheck, trying to figure out how to feed themselves,” she added.
Some furloughed employees are turning to Uber and DoorDash for extra income, but “excluded” employees who are required to work during the shutdown but still aren't getting paid can't get other jobs, one federal worker said. The worker, who still works for the government, asked not to be named.
Stroman, who heads the ministry's outreach to the city that hosted the food bank on Friday, said he will continue to organize food banks for all federal employees “until the shutdown is over.”
“We let them know that we are here to help and there is still hope,” Stroman said.
Senate failed to advance the GOP government funding bill passed for the 12th time this week, and not a single senator changed their vote. Republicans and Democrats place blame on the opposing party, while both sides argue that federal workers will suffer as a result.
With no end in sight to the shutdown, Lewis said all federal workers can do is “just keep moving forward.”
“As they say, persist until something happens. You have to stay strong. You can't let it get you down,” she said.
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