- The Salt Lake airport created a food pantry for federal employees impacted by the government shutdown.
- An estimated 500 workers at the airport could benefit from the aid.
- The public is being encouraged to stop at the airport's travel plaza and contribute.
If you turn just before the Southwest Airlines ticket counter on the Salt Lake City International Airport’s third floor and look straight ahead, veering past the huge image of Capitol Reef on the wall, you can pass through double doors and down a hallway that’s lined with something totally unexpected: A food pantry.
Tables are covered with cases of chili and corn, stacks of diapers, boxes of cereal, personal hygiene items, laundry soap and pet food, among dozens of other items.
The selection of household necessities is a rescue project designed to help Transportation Security Administration and other federal employees at the airport who have been caught in the most painful part of the government shutdown: They’re the workers deemed so essential that the U.S. can’t do without them, but they’re being asked to do without paychecks until the government reopens.
The assistance program was borne of lessons from the 2019 shutdown, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Bill Wyatt, the executive director of the Salt Lake City Department of Airports, said during a news conference Thursday. They estimate about 500 workers at the airport could be helped by the food pantry.
In addition to the items already there — about $6,000 worth at the moment as the pantry gets going — the plan is to also provide some gift cards, such as gas cards. Wyatt said there’s no question the help will be both needed and appreciated, as the federal employees are not making enormous salaries, but are carrying out their enormous responsibilities.
The public can help out, too
The pantry is also a way for the community to say thanks and help out, he added. Folks can pull into the travel plaza at the airport and donate items or cash that can be used to get what’s needed to help sustain the families.
Mendenhall said that figuring out how to help wasn’t a challenge, given the earlier government shutdown, but called it “sad we kind of know what to do.” The food pantry is an example of “how we step up,” she said.
She noted the truth of the statement that “character is not created in crisis; it’s just revealed.” And of giving and generosity, she added, “We know how to flex this muscle.”
Wyatt told Deseret News that no taxpayer money was used to stock the pantry; instead, the city was asked for a $100,000 allocation of airport revenue so some relief could be provided. Whether that will be enough or too much will become clear as the shutdown either continues or ends. Along the way, they’ll be able to see what items the workers need and what they don’t and adjustments to what’s available will be made.
Wyatt said officials expect to see a high level of utilization and have already encountered a high level of gratitude.
Advice for those struggling to pay housing
Airport employees aren’t the only ones who will need help, however, if the shutdown goes on long. Mendenhall said people who know they’re going to have trouble making house payments should reach out to their lenders before those payments are overdue. It’s likely some will be patient and work with those caught in the shutdown.
Mendenhall noted that most Americans live paycheck to paycheck and said those living in Salt Lake City proper, federal employee or not, who are struggling should reach out to the city’s tenant resource center to see if there’s help available.
“This is about keeping families stable in our community,” said Mendenhall. “These are our neighbors, whether we know them or not.”
