Tens of thousands of federal workers living in Prince George鈥檚 County, Maryland, haven鈥檛 been paid the entire month of October, straining household finances in a number of places.
The shutdown has also brought up concerns about funding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Two federal judges ruled Friday that SNAP payments must continue during the shutdown, but those rulings will likely face appeals.
In Prince George’s County, 110,000 residents rely on SNAP benefits 鈥� 48,000 of those are children. Any interruption to funding the food aid program would further strain the limited resources that are available.
But county leaders and the faith community are trying to help.
鈥淲e’re very concerned about hunger here in Prince George’s County, we’re very concerned about those who are most vulnerable,鈥� County Executive Aisha Braveboy said ahead of the judges’ rulings on SNAP.
Braveboy said nonprofits around the county are providing resources, including food, to residents.
“We know the lines are going to be long,” Braveboy said. “There are several locations where people can pick up food resources this weekend.鈥�
The big event is a giveaway at Redeemers Church of Christ in Lanham.
There鈥檚 also a smaller giveaway happening at Prince George鈥檚 Community College鈥檚 Wellness Expo set for Saturday in Largo.
鈥淎s the President of the United States is building a ballroom at the White House, we have federal workers who are standing in line for hours to get a basic need met 鈥� food,鈥� Council Chair Ed Burroughs said. 鈥淎nd this is the reality that our country is facing in this moment.
鈥淎ll we have is two fish and five loaves of bread,鈥� Burroughs added. 鈥淭hat’s our reality, and we pray to God that he will multiply it.鈥�
Pastor Kobby Sarpong said his church is off to a good start in trying to make that happen.
鈥淲e paid $17,000 to bring in a truckload of about $80,000 worth of food,鈥� Sarpong said. 鈥淲e are getting also household items.
鈥淚 know what is called hunger, and I understand when things are not going right with the people,鈥� he added. 鈥淚 see the light coming, and we are going to make sure it’s light brighter.鈥�
The county is also listing 10 locations around the region where those who have the means can drop off food donations to help their neighbors. The emphasis on food giveaways and donations comes as county leaders said they are left an extremely tight budget situation on an annual basis.
Braveboy described the tightrope the county has to walk as, 鈥淒oing my best to be fiscally prudent, but also understanding that there are real needs that people have.鈥�
Asked if the county had money to offer any sort of financial assistance, Braveboy didn鈥檛 explicitly say yes.
鈥淲e’ll assess the situation weekly to see what we need to do,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e’ll see what happens over the next few days in Congress, and we’ll assess our situation here locally. I’ll talk with the council about options for us to perhaps provide some additional county resources. But again, we are trying to be prudent, and we’re trying to ensure that the obligation is really placed where it needs to be, which is on our federal government.”
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