Tulsa Food Bank Committed to Helping Beyond Shutdown

The Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma estimates it helped about 150 federal workers during the shutdown and plans to keep helping people in need until they're back on their feet.

The food bank is taking things one day at a time.

"Today we're cautiously optimistic,” Executive Director Eileen Bradshaw said.

Just this week, the food bank held a pop-up pantry. A handful of federal workers have come by nearly every day lately, so food bank employees are hearing a lot of stories. Bradshaw said they’ve seen TSA workers, HUD employees, along with workers from the Justice Department and Department of the Interior.

"We've just met so many people,” Bradshaw said. “We've had people break down in the lobby in tears."

Bradshaw says a TSA worker who came by explained what happened the last time she missed a paycheck during another shutdown.

“They had lump summed her next paycheck and she found that she was in a different tax bracket and quite a bit of the money she was expecting wasn't there,” Bradshaw said.

With questions about what paychecks will look like, and how things will play out in Washington over the next three weeks, Bradshaw knows one thing: the shelves at the food bank are stocked and ready to go.

"We'll be mindful,” she said. “We're not gonna turn anybody away."

Bradshaw is also keeping an eye on how SNAP recipients will be impacted after receiving February benefits early.

"The way that the calendar works, some folks won't receive benefits again until March 10th, which is gonna be a really long gap for a lot of families,” Bradshaw said. “So we're watching that as well in case those families find themselves in need of extra food."

The food bank says it is not low on food because of the shutdown, but If you'd like to donate, click here.