Demand for food assistance is surging in Westmoreland County following the cutoff of federal benefits caused by the six-week U.S. government shutdown, a food bank official said Wednesday.

It is uncertain when the aid will resume.

Jennifer Miller, executive director of the Westmoreland Food Bank in Salem, said need has skyrocketed.

“We typically field 158 calls a month from those seeking food,” Miller said. “In the first 12 days of (November), we have close to 350 calls. The majority are from people who have had their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits frozen.”

About 45,000 SNAP recipients in Westmoreland County are not receiving benefits this month, placing greater pressure on local food pantries, Miller said.

“In this situation, a warm meal becomes more than just nourishment,” she said.

The benefit cutoff comes as the Trump administration continues to challenge the release of full food assistance. The administration appealed a federal judge’s order to fully fund SNAP benefits, and the Supreme Court this week placed a stay on that order until 11:59 p.m. Thursday.

Aid to TSA employees

Despite the bitter cold Wednesday morning, the food bank delivered about 30 boxes of food, including a frozen turkey for Thanksgiving, to Transportation Security Administration employees at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity.

Kimberly Kraynak-Lambert, the Pennsylvania manager for the American Federation of Government Employees — the union representing about 25 TSA employees at the airport — said the workers have missed two full paychecks since the shutdown began.

About a dozen members of the Greater Westmoreland County Labor Council worked to load the boxes into the employees’ vehicles. The labor council was contacted by the government employee union to assist with the distribution.

“We’re proud to help out,” said Mike Hartung of Greensburg, president of the labor council and a retired U.S. Postal Service employee.

One loader was Linda Butler, a retired psychologist’s aide at Torrance State Hospital in Derry Township, who said she was happy to volunteer.

The labor council also provided $75 Giant Eagle gift cards to help the TSA employees buy gas or food, Hartung said.

Other food drives

Kraynak-Lambert said she has organized similar food drives at other airports in the region, including the Pittsburgh International Airport on Thursday. She said she is trying to have a food drive at the John Murtha Johnstown-­Cambria County Airport and the DuBois Regional Airport in Jefferson County.

Neither the TSA nor the Trump administration has been helpful, she said.

“They do not help feed our people,” Kraynak-Lambert said.

With the federal shutdown ending, the time frame for TSA employees to receive back pay remains uncertain.

“It all depends on how fast they can get the money out,” she said.

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