Food banks have popped up in Chicago, Tampa, and Phoenix to help TSA employees who are continuing to work without pay during the government shutdown.
The help comes amid ongoing reports of airport delays across the country as TSA employees continue call in sick so they can look for alternative ways to pay their bills.
Tampa International Airport joined forces with Feeding Tampa Bay and United Way Suncoast to set up a food bank for federal employees on Monday after they missed their first paycheck of the year.
The bank provided food and toiletries for TSA workers, as well as US Customs and Border Protection and Federal Aviation Administration employees.
TSA worker Ebony Grays wipes away tears after receiving food at the Lakeview Pantry in Chicago on Monday
Grays is one of thousands of TSA workers who were helped on Monday thanks to food banks that popped up all across the country
TSA employees are required to work during the government shutdown because they are considered vital to public safety
All three agencies are required to work during the shutdown as they are considered essential employees.
‘We’re glad we’re able to help,’ Tampa International Airport spokesman Emily Nipps told the Huffington Post.
Nipps said the food bank received 60 visitors in less than two hours and that local residents are dropping off donations for TSA workers.
The food bank will remain open until Saturday and can be accessed by workers with a valid ID.
Federal employees at Tampa Airport have also been given 31-day bus passes thanks to Hillsborough Area Regional Transit and local electricity companies are working to help pay their utility bills.
The help comes amid ongoing reports of airport delays across the country as TSA employees continue call in sick so they can look for alternative ways to pay their bills
TSA worker John Salinas (right) receives food from a pantry worker at the Lakeview Pantry in Chicago on Monday
Salinas and his fiancee Ryan Farmer were all smiles as they left the pantry with a box of food
A mobile food pantry was also set up by St Mary’s Food Bank at the TSA’s offices in Phoenix on Monday.
Nearly 300 employees arrived at the bank, which handed out 10,000 pounds of food that included everything from canned goods to fresh produce.
One hundred emergency food packages were sent to McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville after receiving an ‘unprecedented’ request from the local American Federation of Government Employees to help TSA workers.
Over in Boston a pop-up food pantry served 400 families of members of the Coast Guard, while in Washington D.C. famous Spanish chef Jose Andres announced he will open a World Central Kitchen feeding site for federal workers.
Food banks have also popped up in Phoenix, Atlanta, Boston, Knoxville, and Tampa, Florida
Salinas is seen here looking over paperwork with a pantry worker before collecting food
Tampa International Airport joined forces with Feeding Tampa Bay and United Way Suncoast to set up a food bank for federal employees on Monday after they missed their first paycheck
The bank provided food and toiletries for TSA workers, as well as US Customs and Border Protection and Federal Aviation Administration employees
The Tampa food bank, which has received donations from local residents, saw 60 visitors in less than two hours on Monday
As various organizations rally to help TSA workers make it through another day of the longest government shutdown in history, more and more airports across America are being forced to close screening lanes and increase wait times.
Washington Dulles International became the latest airport to close screening lanes on Monday due to unpaid TSA agents calling out.
Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport also confirmed that their Terminal B checkpoint will remain closed on Monday after shutting the area down Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile in Atlanta, it was taking more than an hour for passengers to get through domestic checkpoints.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport reported the lengthy wait times on its website, showing the long waits at all three checkpoints in the domestic terminal.
The airport (passengers pictured in Atlanta) reported the lengthy wait times on its website, showing the long waits at all three checkpoints in the domestic terminal
Atlanta’s wait times stretched well beyond what the TSA says most passengers (pictured in Atlanta) have endured since the shutdown began on December 22
Atlanta’s wait times stretched well beyond what the TSA says most passengers have endured since the shutdown began.
Callers to the TSA’s media relations line heard a recorded message saying employees were unable to answer phone calls due to a lapse in federal funding.
The recorded message said that 99.9 percent of passengers nationally waited less than 30 minutes to get through security on Friday, and 95 percent waited less than 15 minutes.
The message adds that security standards ‘remain uncompromised’ at the nation’s airports, despite reports of a passenger carrying a firearm on board a flight from Atlanta to Japan after ‘standard procedures’ were not followed at a TSA checkpoint.
The traveler departed from the Atlanta airport and flew to Narita International Airport in Chiba on January 3.
Washington Dulles International became the latest airport to close screening lanes on Monday due to unpaid TSA agents calling out
Photos showed empty screening lanes on Monday after they were closed because airport and airline officials decided to ‘consolidate checkpoints’ due to absences
The passenger flew on a Delta Airlines flight and ‘upon the customer’s disclosure, the airline reported the incident to the TSA’.
Monday marked the first business day after security screeners missed paychecks for the first time due to the partial government shutdown.
No-shows among screeners across the nation have soared, with a national rate of 7.6 unscheduled absences Monday morning, a TSA spokesman said.
That compares to 3.2 per cent for this time one year ago.
Monday’s long wait times come with less than three weeks remaining before the city hosts one of the world’s biggest sporting events.
Super Bowl 53 on February 3 is expected to bring hordes of travelers to Atlanta for the game and days of concerts and related events.
Monday marked the first business day after security screeners (pictured at Atlanta’s airport) missed paychecks for the first time due to the partial government shutdown
No-shows among screeners across the nation have soared, with a national rate of 7.6 unscheduled absences Monday morning, a TSA spokesman said
‘TSA, airport authorities and airlines will continue to work closely to ensure resources are optimized, efforts to consolidate operations are actively managed, and screening and security are never compromised,’ Kelly said.
News of the wait times comes after Miami International Airport closed one of its terminals for part of Saturday and Sunday because many TSA workers were calling in sick. But the airport confirmed the reopening of Concourse G on Monday.
The decision to temporarily shutter Concourse G over the weekend was due to the airport’s concern that it didn’t have enough TSA agents to staff the security checkpoint.The airport was said to have been short about 40 TSA agents.
Miami International wasn’t the only airport that faced TSA worker shortfalls.
News of the wait times comes after Miami International Airport closed one of its terminals (pictured) for part of Saturday and Sunday because many TSA workers were calling in sick
But the airport confirmed the reopening of Concourse G on Monday. The decision to temporarily shutter Concourse G (pictured, on Sunday) was due to the airport’s concern that it didn’t have enough TSA agents to staff the security checkpoint
At the Washington Dulles airport, screening lanes were closed because airport and airline officials decided to ‘consolidate checkpoints’ because of the absences, according to Politico.
TSA spokesman Michael Bilello partially attributed the absences to this weekend’s snowstorm but acknowledged that it was ‘slightly higher than a normal call-out rate’.
At Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport, a security checkpoint was closed Sunday afternoon in Terminal B and remained closed through Monday.
Houston airport officials ascribed the closure to staffing issues associated with the partial shutdown.
According to Politico, the TSA also had to cancel training for about for 323 employees.
A TSA spokesperson said 18 supervisory and advanced training classes were nixed last week.