Twice a month, volunteers at the Holy Tabernacle Church in Dorchester run a food pantry. This week, they held a special food distribution program for new group of people: furloughed federal workers.
“I’ve been a federal employee for 39 years. I’ve been through every shutdown,” said Lauren Thompson, a furloughed IRS auditor, who spearheaded the effort. “This is this first shutdown where I’m starting to really wonder, 'Is this going to go on for months?'”
Thompson said she’s getting by, but knows other federal workers are having trouble makings ends meet.
“It’s not a vacation because a vacation, you have money to spend,” Thompson said. “This is more, ‘Okay, how am I going to pay for my necessities, how am I going to pay for my shelter? How am I going to pay for food?’”
Community organizations responded with donations of toiletries, household items and 14,000 pounds of fresh food. It’s a tangible outpouring at a time when someone like Barbara Barrett has no idea when she’ll be able to go back to the job she’s had for the past 18 years.
“I’m behind in my bills, I got rent coming up next month, I’ve got to put food on the table, I am a heart patient,” Barrett said. “I’ve got to figure out, do I pay for my medicine or do I get food?”
Barrett said she blames the shutdown on President Donald Trump, but another furloughed worker who came to the church's food bank sees it a bi-partisan problem.
“Republicans say one thing, Democrats say another,” said IRS employee Anthony Moore. “Employees are left holding the bag.”
