Free food boxes help federal workers at MSP weather the shutdown

Federal workers at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport got some relief Wednesday in the form of free food boxes as they face working without pay during the federal government shutdown.

It will collide in a few days with the expected suspension of about $72 million in monthly SNAP benefits. About 440,000 state residents rely on SNAP including some federal workers, organizers said.

Federal workers picked up boxes of shelf-stable food items — cereal, pasta, canned vegetables — at a table near the airport's rental car area.

A few of the workers, some wearing TSA jackets, declined comment.

Second Harvest Heartland, the Sanneh Foundation and the Metropolitan Airports Commission will offer the boxes once a week on Wednesdays for federal workers to pick up.

Sarah Moberg, chief executive officer of Second Harvest, said food will be distributed weekly until paychecks get back in circulation.

“Our hope is that this box of food can provide just a little bit of relief as they look at how they can put food on the table for meals, you know, in the next few days for their families,” Moberg said.

Tony Sanneh, CEO of the Sanneh Foundation, which focuses on children said the shutdown of SNAP benefits would affect 180,000 children in the state.

The partners are responding to community needs, he said.

“We want to make sure families know that there's extra resources,” Sanneh said. “It’s our mission to step up and be there in times of need,” Sanneh said.

Moberg said it was important for people to remember the real families, seniors and children behind the numbers and statistics. 

She said she was grateful for “workers who are continuing to show up, particularly at the airport where so much of our business travel and economy depends on the ability for people to fly safely.”