Food pantries across the country are working to help federal employees who missed a paycheck on Friday due to the ongoing partial government shutdown, including one in Boston that has helped hundreds of U.S. Coast Guard families so far. A food pantry in Lawrence, Kansas, decided to waive its poverty guidelines so that struggling federal employees could get a week of free groceries. “No one should go without food during a difficult time.” Portland, Oregon, food pantry William Temple House is also prepared to help as many federal workers as it can. The shutdown has affected about 800,000 federal employees, among them thousands of Coast Guard members. Jenny James is married to a member of the Coast Guard and has two children.

Source: Huffington Post January 11, 2019 23:48 UTC