Government shutdown hits home as travel delays, food aid cuts, and worker strain grow

More than a week into the federal government shutdown, the real-world effects are deepening across the country.

(NBC)- More than a week into the federal government shutdown, the real-world effects are deepening across the country — from family dinner tables to airport runways.

In Georgia, the Forsyth Farmers Market has lost access to a key federal program that doubled SNAP food benefits for low-income families. Co-founder Kristin Russell says the program helped parents “stretch their budgets to get more vegetables into their kids’ diet.”

Across the nation, travelers are also feeling the pinch. Delays are mounting at major airports as air traffic controllers, already in short supply, continue to work without pay. Some are calling out sick under the pressure.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says many of them are struggling: “They’ve got houses, mortgages, car payments. They have to put food on the table. They’re concerned they may not get a paycheck.”

Union officials deny any organized “sick-out,” but stress the strain is real. Nick Daniels of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association says simply, “Absolutely not,” when asked about coordinated absences.

TSA officers are feeling similar financial pressure. Atlanta’s TSA Local Union President Aaron Barker says during the last prolonged shutdown, some employees took on side jobs: “Some of them did elect to do, like, Uber, DoorDash.”

Hundreds of thousands more federal workers are now furloughed, and President Trump has raised alarm by suggesting some might not receive back pay — despite a 2019 federal law requiring it. “For the most part, we’re going to take care of our people,” he said, “but there are some people that really don’t deserve to be taken care of.”

Democrats have vowed to fight that proposal and are refusing to reopen the government without addressing healthcare funding. In a rare bipartisan twist, Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has joined their call, saying her adult children’s health insurance premiums will double without extended Affordable Care Act subsidies.