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4:24 PM EDT, Mon October 14, 2013
Calvert County, Maryland (CNN) -- Getting out of her car, the wife of a furloughed government worker walked toward a small building full of free food.
She approached the door with her head down. An attendant asked for her name, she looked up and began to sob.
"It's ok, it's not your fault," the volunteer said as she wrapped her arms around the crying woman.
Chesapeake Cares Food Pantry, located 30 miles from the political impasse in Washington that resulted in the shutdown, put together a food giveaway tailored to affected workers not at their jobs and not being paid.
Roughly 200 people received bags of frozen meat, canned vegetables and other staples on Monday morning.
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"These folks (furloughed government employees) don't know how to be poor," said Rev. Robert Hahn, the head End Hunger in Calvert County, a consortium of food pantries in the area. "These folks are fish out of water and they feel humiliated, like they have lost their dignity."
This is the second offering Hahn's group has made to federal employees. Last week, the group passed out 2,700 pounds of food to 71 different families. And if the government shutdown continues, Hahn said he anticipates his group will continue this sort of offering.
The shutdown that began on October 1 has impacted hundreds of thousands of federal workers and contractors in the Washington region, including people at the epicenter of the partisan shutdown showdown in Congress.
Washington-area food banks have responded to an unexpected need this fall created by the shutdown, their efforts already tested by a continued, uneven economic recovery and tough job market.
Video - read more Some furloughed by shutdown turn to charities for food - CNN.com
Calvert County, Maryland (CNN) -- Getting out of her car, the wife of a furloughed government worker walked toward a small building full of free food.
She approached the door with her head down. An attendant asked for her name, she looked up and began to sob.
"It's ok, it's not your fault," the volunteer said as she wrapped her arms around the crying woman.
Chesapeake Cares Food Pantry, located 30 miles from the political impasse in Washington that resulted in the shutdown, put together a food giveaway tailored to affected workers not at their jobs and not being paid.
Roughly 200 people received bags of frozen meat, canned vegetables and other staples on Monday morning.
The shutdown hits brewers and reality TV
Obama: Shutdown 'completely unnecessary'
Senate gets closer to a deal
"These folks (furloughed government employees) don't know how to be poor," said Rev. Robert Hahn, the head End Hunger in Calvert County, a consortium of food pantries in the area. "These folks are fish out of water and they feel humiliated, like they have lost their dignity."
This is the second offering Hahn's group has made to federal employees. Last week, the group passed out 2,700 pounds of food to 71 different families. And if the government shutdown continues, Hahn said he anticipates his group will continue this sort of offering.
The shutdown that began on October 1 has impacted hundreds of thousands of federal workers and contractors in the Washington region, including people at the epicenter of the partisan shutdown showdown in Congress.
Washington-area food banks have responded to an unexpected need this fall created by the shutdown, their efforts already tested by a continued, uneven economic recovery and tough job market.
Video - read more Some furloughed by shutdown turn to charities for food - CNN.com
