No sooner had Eugene Vindman crossed the parking lot of Germanna Community College’s Stafford County Center on Friday afternoon than the Democratic congressman grabbed a carton of eggs, pausing to inspect its contents before loading it carefully into the trunk of a station wagon.
“You can’t give out cracked eggs, right?” Vindman said.
Vindman, who represents Virginia’s seventh district, was the highest-profile volunteer at a pop-up event hosted by the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank geared specifically toward furloughed federal workers, who are entering their 10th day of being impacted by a government shutdown.
“We just realized that with their paychecks ending today, it’s going to be important to offer these resources to the community,” Food Bank President and CEO Dan Maher said. “And we know that 10% of our regional population are federal employees. We need to be responsive to that.”
Evangelist Charita Mariner (right) of Community of Faith Christian Church offers Rich Mattison encouragement while he waits in line for a food donation from the Fredericksburg Food Bank. (Photos by Suzanne Carr-Rossi)
The Food Bank announced the drive-thru pop-up on social media earlier this week, and, in just over 48 hours, the post generated more than 100,000 views.
That translated into a robust turnout Friday, with cars snaking throughout the parking lot as their occupants waited to be loaded down with fresh produce — peaches, grapes, bananas and squash — as well as staples like milk and eggs.
But they didn’t just receive food.
After a volunteer confirmed how many households each driver was picking up for, Diane Grimes stepped in. Grimes, the Food Bank’s SNAP Outreach and Referral Coordinator, held a stack of papers with QR codes for the Food Bank’s order-ahead program, which allows people to arrange food pickups every 12 days.
“But what I’m really trying to do is get them to schedule an appointment with me, because they’re not used to this kind of hardship,” Grimes said. “Rather than just give them fish, I’m trying to teach them to fish, so if they ever find themselves in this situation, they’ll always know how to get food.”
In the past week, Maher said his organization has received numerous inquiries from federal employees, many of whom were experiencing food scarcity for the first time.
“And some of them acknowledged, ‘I don’t know what to do,’” he said. “’I’m ashamed to ask for this help. How can I help back after I am made whole again?’ So there’s really that sense, I think, that this is, to them, a shameful episode, but it’s not their fault.”
According to Deon Stewart, the Food Bank’s Distribution Coordinator, the shutdown’s local impact was felt almost immediately. Stewart recounted how he made a delivery to a federal worker on the very first day of the impasse.
“And her logic was, ‘I would like to start getting stuff now just in case,’” Stewart said. “So we have the money, but, you know, you don’t know when an emergency is going to happen.”
Vindman, a U.S. Army veteran, noted that next week would mark the first missed check for active-duty service members.
“These are people who put their lives on the line for this country abroad, and they cannot afford to miss a paycheck,” he said.
The congressman likewise bristled at widespread reports of federal layoffs occurring during the shutdown, as well as the prospect of furloughed employees not receiving back pay once the government is funded.
“The violators of these laws will be held accountable when the time comes for accountability,” he said. “But this is blatantly illegal activity, and we won’t stand for it. There’ll be lawsuits, and there’ll be other activities as well.”
Asked what it would take to bring him and his fellow Democrats to the table to pass a continuing resolution — thereby ending the shutdown — Vindman said the answer was simple.
“It’s what we’ve said,” Vindman said. “Preserving Americans’ health care. It’s the number one issue. These expiring tax credits, the notices are going out. This month, people are getting notices saying that their premiums are about to spike two to three times.”
Vindman shakes hands with a TSA employee in line to receive food aid during a pop-up event hosted by the Fredericksburg Food Bank at the Stafford campus of Germanna Community College on Friday afternoon.
One man pulled up to the front of the line still wearing his full Transportation Security Administration (TSA) uniform. Classified as essential workers, TSA agents are still expected to report to work — without pay.
Vindman approached the driver’s side window, and the two men shared a brief conversation and a handshake. The congressman said that he would do whatever he could to end the shutdown.
“Good,” the man replied, “Because I don’t like working and not getting paid.”
