Darlene Castillo, a technician for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, is among 1.4 million federal workers nationwide living without a paycheck due to the government shutdown.
On Tuesday, she was in an unlikely place: Waiting in a food distribution line in Dania Beach run by Feeding South Florida, specifically to help federal workers. She was among dozens of federal workers collecting food items to feed herself and family — and hoping the federal government reopens soon.
“We don’t want to be out here collecting food donations or borrowing money because we all work hard and we’re all required to go to work every day, but we’re not getting that paycheck,” said Castillo, who has been a federal government employee for four years.
“We don’t have the money,” said Castillo. “We have what we have in our little savings account and what we’ve been putting aside. A lot of my friends have taken loans out on their retirement just to make ends meet.”
Amare Williams, who's been working for the Transportation Security Administration for more than a year, told WLRN that — like Castillo — never had to depend on a food pantry to eat.
READ MORE: Judge indefinitely halts shutdown layoffs noting human toll
“It feels kind of pointless to come to work,” said Williams. “I’m not getting paid. I’m not earning anything. I still feel like I’m kind of making a difference, but you know, no difference made for me. I’m not eating.”
Castillo and Williams must work without pay because they work for agencies requiring them to stay on the job.
In Washington, Republicans and Democrats are at an impasse over ending the shutdown — currently the second-longest shutdown in U.S. history.
Democratic lawmakers are demanding that any deal to reopen the federal government address expiring health care subsidies that have made health insurance more affordable for millions of Americans. They also want any government funding bill to reverse the Medicaid cuts in Trump’s big tax breaks and spending cuts bill passed this summer.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has refused to negotiate with Democrats until they first agree to reopen the government.
In Dania Beach, Feeding South Florida treated 250 families of federal workers to a vast array of food options including chicken, vegetables and yogurt.
The non-profit organization CEO Paco Velez told WLRN the non-profit organization is relying on all its partners and the community to meet its rising demand.
“So the huge thing we need right now is monetary donations from our community, and they've always stepped up, regardless of whether it was a hurricane, a pandemic, a government shutdown or an economic crisis,” said Velez.
The large number of federal workers affected by the shutdown pales in comparison to the millions of Floridians who depend on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to help buy groceries. SNAP are what used to be called food stamps.
The SNAP benefits could dry up this weekend — again due to the shutdown.
State officials have warned SNAP recipients that benefits for the month of November “will not be issued until federal funding is restored.”
“You may receive notices about your eligible benefit amount, but you will not receive any benefits deposited to your EBT card during this time,” DCF officials wrote on its agency website.
READ MORE: Florida Democrats urge GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis to help SNAP recipients losing benefits due to shutdown
In Florida, nearly 3 million people receive SNAP benefits, including more than 1 million children, more than 700,000 seniors and 250,000 people with disabilities.
Velez said roughly 922,000 SNAP recipients in South Florida will not get their food assistance benefits and likely turn to his organization for help.
In Miami-Dade, Mayor Daniela Levine Cava made a public plea on Tuesday to Feeding South Florida, along with United Way Miami and Farm Share to “activate emergency food distribution operations” in coordination with the county, the largest in Florida.
Velez said his organization is ready to assist.
“We’re always able to activate whenever the mayor needs us,” he said.
