Nearly a month into the shutdown, food banks across the country were straining to meet rising demand from hundreds of thousands of federal workers who were furloughed or working without pay and were bracing for an even bigger surge as benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program were set to lapse on Nov. 1. More than one in eight Americans depended on food stamps from SNAP, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Recipients received an average of $187 a month on a prepaid card to buy groceries, and many families relied on those benefits as their main source of money for food, CBS news reported. The Community Table Food Bank in Arvada, Colorado, was so inundated with people on Thursday that it had to temporarily close. Before it did, Danielle Brann, a SNAP recipient, obtained essentials including ham and crackers and cans of spaghetti sauce. “The line started at 9 o’clock this morning and I don’t remember ever seeing it this busy. I mean they’re turning people away. So it’s more of a demand for sure,” Brann said. In Delaware County, Pennsylvania, the Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry also had to turn people away on Tuesday because food was leaving the shelves faster than it could be restocked.
Thanksgiving travel at risk
Vice President JD Vance and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that Americans could face a travel “disaster” as Thanksgiving approaches next month without an end in sight to the govt shutdown. Their comments came after Vance hosted a roundtable of aviation, travel and union leaders at the White House, during which they aired their concerns with the current state of the industry and worked out potential, temporary solutions to ease the strain on Federal Aviation Administration employees who were being forced to work without pay to ensure Americans could fly safely, two White House officials told CNN. “Look it could be a disaster. It really could be, because at that point you’re talking about people have missed three paychecks. They’ve missed four paychecks. How many of them are not going to show up for work?” Vance said. “That’s going to lead to massive delays. We want people to be able to get home for Thanksgiving. We want people to be able to travel for business,” he continued. Air traffic control staffing problems spiked over the weekend, raising concerns about growing disruption Duffy added, “Our traffic will be snarled, but it will be a disaster in aviation.”
What Happens if the Shutdown Continues?
Military:More than a million active-duty service members in the United States would have missed their pay cheques on Friday if the Trump administration will not intervene, BBC reported.About a quarter of military families were considered food insecure, and 15% relied on Snap or food pantries, according to research firm Rand. Meanwhile, the Military Family Advisory Network estimated that 27% of families had £380 or less in emergency savings. The Pentagon said it had accepted a $130m gift from a wealthy donor to help pay salaries during the shutdown, which worked out to $100 for each of the 1.3 million service members expecting to be paid. The White House planned to pay the troops on 31 October by using money from a military housing fund, a research-and-development account and a defence procurement fund, according to Axios. Earlier this month the administration made payroll by moving $6.5bn from military research. More than 160 families told the National Military Family Association that they had been underpaid during the shutdown, some by hundreds of dollars and others by thousands. Federal civilian workers:If the shutdown continues, then some 4.5 million paycheques would have been withheld from civilian employees, representing about $21bn in missing wages, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. Furloughed employees were typically paid after shutdowns ended, although Trump had threatened to withhold pay and was attempting to fire thousands of workers, a move being challenged in court.Air traffic controllers:Thousands of air traffic controllers missed their first paycheques this week. And if it continues, then the flight delay will also continue. Because they are considered essential workers, the workers must continue to do their jobs without pay during the shutdown. Since 1 October, numerous controllers have called in sick and now many report they are getting second jobs.
