World Central Kitchen, the nonprofit organization founded by celebrity chef José Andrés, says it will feed furloughed federal workers a free, hot lunch until there’s a breakthrough on Capitol Hill.
Volunteers passed out nearly 2,000 meals to federal workers in Washington, D.C., on Monday, the first day of the effort. They will return Tuesday to Washington Canal Park in Navy Yard and could expand to a second location in coming days.
Federal workers who lined up for lunch Monday expressed exasperation over the stalemate on Capitol Hill, while bracing for another missed paycheck.
“Mortgages in the area are expensive, and daycare is a second mortgage,” said Humberto Lopez, a furloughed Department of Defense employee, of the financial strain.
“You can’t hold federal government workers hostage,” Lopez said, urging lawmakers to pass a funding measure and then negotiate other issues. “If you can’t trust the other side to do the right thing, then this all falls apart.”
While the workers say they appreciate generosity from the community and local businesses, they’re reaching their limit as the shutdown approaches one month.
“We are human beings with families with lives, and we have bills that just will not stop,” said furloughed worker Markita Bryant. “I think it is the breaking point, and so something has to happen and something has to give.”
