N.C. food bank addressing ‘increased need’ during federal shutdown

RALEIGH, N.C. — Weeks into a federal shutdown, furloughed federal workers are starting to feel the pinch.

Many missed their first paycheck last Friday, and this week some of them showed up to North Carolina food banks looking for help.

Boxes of produce are flying out of the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina in Raleigh as volunteers load up trucks and prepare pallets of goods for a growing number of North Carolinians.

“These are real humans. These are not numbers on a spreadsheet,” said Amy Beros, CEO of The Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. “This is impacting our neighbors.”

Beros said the organization has seen more need in just the last week as the federal shutdown starts to impact furloughed workers.

The produce here is on a 24-hour clock. It comes and goes in less than a day.

“We’re definitely seeing an increased need already from the shutdown, especially from our federal workers who just missed their first paycheck,” Beros said.

Many of those people, Beros said, have never used a food bank before.

“We got an email on Monday from someone, a father who said, ‘I’m a federal worker. I missed my paycheck this week, and I have five children. I don’t know how I’m going to put food on the table. Where can I go?’” Beros said.

It comes as the food bank deals with increasing need in the 34 counties it serves.

Two years ago, the bank served 450,000 people faced with hunger. This year that number is 600,000.

In response to the shutdown, the food bank is connecting with local organizations to set up direct food distributions and pop-up markets for federal workers.

“We know it’s hard to ask for help, but we want to make it as easy as possible for them to get the help that they need,” Beros said.

As the nonprofit navigates the increased need, it’s calling on federal lawmakers to find a solution to the shutdown and address food insecurity nationwide.

“These programs that have been cut are going to drastically increase the need and impact the health of our communities,” Beros said. “We also believe that the government shutdown is going to do more harm to our community. We need people to act and ask their leaders to come together and have these conversations.”

The Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina said it’s seeing more people visiting its facilities and asking for food directly, unsure of where to go.

Food bank officials said a higher cost of living is contributing to the increased need.