CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — On Saturday, in efforts to avoid a government shut down, the House of Representatives passed a bill to keep the government open for another 45 days. The ball now lies in the Senate's court. The possibility of that shutdown could affect over 3 million federal employees.
Should local federal employees turn to a food bank for assistance, Executive Director for the Coastal Bend Food Bank Bea Hanson stated that the food bank is there to help anyone in need.
"The food banks are preparing just like we did before for COVID when everything shut down and people did not have a job or a paycheck. We are first responders. We will be there for assistance for our neighbors, " Hanson said.
Hanson said that a government shutdown would also be affecting food banks nationwide.
"The food banks are being affected as well because we are not receiving as much USDA food and if the payments to the food bank are delayed then we are also going to feel an impact economically," she said.
But Hanson says the food bank has pushed through many emergencies. A government shutdown isn't the first time the food bank has had to rise to the challenge.
"We had Harvey and then we had Hanna. We had the freeze. We had COVID and now the shutdown. So, it seems like we are continuously working on emergency mode. We surprise ourselves with how much more we could do and now we know that we can come through and that's a good feeling," Hanson said.
Hanson says that the food bank distributes one million pounds of food per month.
"Right now we can sustain that. What's in the future, you never know. At one point we've had to purchase food in order to fill the gaps. If we have to do that, we will do that."
In times of uncertainty, Hanson hopes that people remember the reason the food bank is there.
"That's our mission, to provide in case of an emergency for whoever needs help. Don't feel like this is something to be ashamed of. Just come and get the help you need until you can get back on your feet,” she said.
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