Andrea Stevens
AFRO Staff Writer
astevens@afro.com
As the federal government shutdown stretches into its third week, many Baltimore families are facing a growing sense of uncertainty and hunger. With paychecks halted and services disrupted, the shutdown is putting new pressure on working families, especially those who rely on federal employment or assistance.
City officials and local organizations are trying to fill the gap. One of the most immediate sources of relief are food pantries across the city.
“We’re seeing more people than ever,” says the Rev. Andre Samuel, who has been operating “Fishes and Loaves” food pantry for 15 years in West Baltimore at the church Faith Tabernacle. “Before the shutdown, we served around 75 people a day. Now, it’s more like 100 to 150.”
Rev. Samuel purchases the food with the grants that they receive and then gives the food to the surrounding community.
“We have to restock more often now, just to keep up. We see people coming that aren’t just from this neighborhood anymore. People are grateful just to have somewhere to turn.” he says. “But we haven’t had to close early because we’ve run out of food and that’s a blessing.”
Mayor Brandon M. Scott says the impact is falling hardest on working Black families, particularly Black women, who make up a significant portion of Maryland’s federal workforcee.
“This shutdown is just another backdoor attempt to gut the federal government and harm the very workers that built the Black middle class in this state,” said Scott. “They don’t care that people can’t feed their families.”
Scott says the city is doing what it can to support displaced workers.
“We’ve already started placing some federal workers in city jobs,” he says. “We want folks to reach out to the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development. There are still resources available, rental assistance, energy assistance, food support and they can find that through the Mayor’s Office of Children and Family Success.”
Back at the Fishes and Loaves food pantry, Rev. Samuel sees the emotional toll firsthand.
“A woman came last Friday and she just broke down crying,” he says. “She told me, ‘I’ve never had to do this before’ and that she was embarrassed to be here. I prayed with her. I told her she’s not alone. We’re here.”
The pantry operates on W. Patapsco Ave., is open Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and welcomes volunteers to help. With no clear end to the shutdown in sight, leaders like Scott say federal workers and struggling families shouldn’t have to rely on food pantries to survive. But until the government reopens, Baltimore’s safety net will continue to stretch.