DC Food Bank Aids Unpaid Federal Workers | JQJO

At an Urban Outreach drive in southeast Washington DC, staff partnered with Capital Area Food Bank distributed food assistance to federal employees who have gone three and a half weeks without pay, requiring worker IDs at the door. Volunteer coordinator Quinnae Higginbotham, who says she lost her own job at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s DEI program, told the crowd she shares their struggle. The shutdown, now in its 24th day, remains stalemated as a Senate vote to reopen failed 54–46 and both parties trade blame while services are curtailed and many workers go unpaid.