TAMPA, Fla. — As the federal government shutdown drags on with no end in sight, thousands of workers and their families are left hanging in the balance without a paycheck. Tampa International Airport is offering some relief to those unpaid workers.
- About 60 airport workers utilized food pantry within 1st hour and a half it was open
- Government shutdown has impacted 800,000 federal employees nationwide
- United Way, TECO, HART, Duke Energy contributed to food pantry
The airport opened a pop-up food pantry for hundreds of federal workers that have not received a paycheck in 24 days.
"We sympathize with their situation not having a paycheck," said Emily Nipps, a spokeswoman for Tampa International. "These are not workers who make a lot of money. "
About 60 airport workers took advantage of this outreach within the first hour and a half of the pantry's opening.
The partial government shutdown, caused by a battle among congressional leaders and the White House over funding a border wall between the U.S and Mexico, has impacted 800,000 federal employees across the country, including those who work for the Federal Aviation Administration, the Transportation Security Administration and U.S Customs.
700 of those employees work at TIA, Nipps said.
"We’ve got food available for them, bus passes, waivers for their electrical bills, anything we can do to help out where we’re trying to do that this week," she said.
The United Way, TECO, HART and Duke Energy are some of the companies and utilities who contributed to the food bank. Counselors are also available to help TSA workers who are struggling during this time of uncertainty.