Nonprofits, unions and airports rally to feed TSA officers as shutdown drags

Across the country, collections are popping up to help Transportation Security Administration officers who haven’t received their full pay for more than a month due to the partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security.

The charity World Central Kitchen, more accustomed to feeding people in war zones and disaster areas, began providing meals to Washington, D.C., area airports after many TSA officers did not receive their first full paycheck. On Thursday, Feeding San Diego began distributing 400 boxes of pasta, beans and peanut butter as well as fresh produce like strawberries and potatoes to affected officers near the airport after a request from the TSA and the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.

Nonprofits are stepping in to help and coordinating closely with airports and local TSA offices because ethics rules around giving gifts to federal employees make it difficult for those affected by the shutdown to receive aid directly.

Carissa Casares of Feeding San Diego said communicating with the airport allows them to better tailor their resources and response to the needs of TSA workers.

“We need to work directly with the people who have direct access to these employees and provide them with this food at the time and place that is most convenient for them,” Casares said.

Saturday marks the 36th day the Department of Homeland Security has been closed after Democrats refused to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection without changing their operations following the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis.

More than 120,000 DHS employees are working without pay, including about 50,000 Transportation Security Administration agents, as negotiations between lawmakers and the White House over limits on immigration enforcement drag on.

The funding disruption comes just months after a 43-day government shutdown, the longest in the nation’s history, that led to long lines at food banks across the United States as more than 700,000 federal employees worked without pay.

For those who want to help, it’s not as simple as going to the airport and giving money or gift cards directly to TSA agents, who are prohibited from accepting gifts at screening locations, according to a DHS spokesperson.

But Aaron Barker, president of AFGE Local 554 in Georgia, said TSA officers’ unions do not have the same restrictions and can accept donations to distribute to their members. Barker recommends that those wishing to donate search for their local union district on the AFGE website or donate through their local labor council.

“For some people, it can be a matter of life and death,” Barker said. “It’s just sad and terrible that this is happening.”

Union members told Barker they were unable to cover utility bills or pay for their children’s medical procedures. They received eviction notices or had their cars repossessed. They also have difficulty obtaining routine items.

“People don’t think about the things they naturally have in their homes, like toothpaste, toilet paper, milk, detergent, dishwashing liquid,” he said. “I’m sure these things are a necessity for every TSA agent.”

However, no donation can be as effective as the end of confinement. “The first thing they want is their salary,” Barker said. “Money is the most immediate need.”

Operation Food Search is working closely with the TSA to safely deliver food and set up a temporary food pantry at St. Louis Lambert International Airport.

The CEO of the Missouri hunger relief nonprofit said this is the first time they have distributed directly to TSA employees where they work.

“It saves them from having to make an extra trip and drive all the way here,” Kristen Wild said. “So we’re really excited that the airport will allow us to fly directly there.”

They distributed just over half of their 400 bags of prepared food over a two-hour period earlier this week, according to Wild. Each bag contained just under $20 worth of non-perishable items such as applesauce, pasta, rice and beans. The rules prohibit federal employees from soliciting or accepting gifts or items with a monetary value of more than $20 if the gift is related to their government position.

Wild said she thought the $20 limit could be lifted since they were distributing food through airport-approved channels.

“We weren’t sure,” Wild said. “But to play it safe, we simply kept it below the $20 per bag amount so there would be no dispute.”

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport officials were receiving donations from PETA and pallets from local food banks Friday afternoon as they stocked their private pantry for off-duty TSA personnel.

But they also saw restaurant vendors, usually responsible for feeding hungry travelers, step up. Airport tenants offered discounts and made donations through TSA to cover entire meals, according to airport spokesperson Perry Cooper.

“You know a lot of these people,” Cooper said. “You see faces all day long when you walk around. And then realizing that some of these people are here and they’re not getting paid, you know, it really tugs at your heart to think about how we can help them.”

The support from the airport community is in addition to the approximately $6,000 they received in cash and gift cards, as well as an additional $10,000 in food and household supplies, Cooper said. This includes union donations for air traffic controllers, whose jobs are not affected by this partial shutdown but who understand the pressure of working without pay due to total government shutdowns.

More than 460 people purchased fresh produce when Food Lifeline, a local nonprofit, brought in a truck last Friday, according to Cooper. Most of the attendees were TSA personnel, Cooper said, although some people may have been homeless. Boxes containing pineapples and broccoli lined folding tables along the airport’s main aisle.

Frequent travelers like Musie Hidad said he thinks of the TSA agents who work for free every time he goes through security.

“The work they do is serious and they don’t get paid for it,” said Hidad, a resident of Amarillo, Texas, who commuted to Columbus, Ohio, for work. “My heart goes out to them.”

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AP video journalist Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos contributed to this report from Columbus, Ohio.

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