The US Coast Guard — after providing relief and rescue to the country in countless disasters — needs a little relief themselves as the government shutdown continues. Massachusetts Military Support Foundation Inc. is one of several organizations stepping in to help.
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"They don't have to worry about where their next meal is coming from," said Don Cox, president of MMSFI. "They don't know where they're going to get their insurance payments, they don't know where they're going to get their rent payments, they don't know where they're going to get their car payments — so we're at least making sure they can take care of their family and can feed their family and take that burden off their plate."
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MMSFI is a statewide organization that supports active duty, Coast Guard, National Guard, and veterans. Because of the shutdown, the organization's current efforts are focused on the Coast Guard.
According to the Washington Post, while 75 percent of the government remains fully funded, the other 25 percent employs 800,000 individuals from all 50 states. The Department of Homeland Security — where the Coast Guard is housed — accounts for the largest percentage of those individuals with 203,700 employees furloughed or working without pay.
"It's devastating," said Cox. "You figure it's right after Christmas...we all overextended a little to buy something extra for our kids, our grandkids, our wives. Then right after Christmas there's a big surprise from the government — we might shut down Homeland Security and you're not getting paid."
Cox and MMSFI opened a food pantry on the Coast Guard base in Boston to provide free food to Coast Guard members, civilian employees of the Coast Guard, and family members. The organization — with the help of donations from the Greater Boston Food Bank, Ocean State Job Lot, and Shaw's Supermarkets — has already donated 52,000 pounds of food.
With no end in sight, Cox is confident that MMSFI and its partners will be able to continue to feed the families affected by the shutdown.
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"If I have to work 24 hours a day and my knuckles have to be bloody, I'm going to bang on every door I have to until these kids get fed," Cox said. "I've been doing this for ten years. The last shutdown we didn't have a food program, but we went through $60,000 gift cards a week. I managed to get it done then, and I had less resources than I have now. Nobody up here is going to go hungry."
MMSFI is feeding 2,000 families, and Cox only expects that number to double or triple the longer the shutdown continues. To support the food bank, you can visit MMSFI's Facebook page or website.