DALLAS (KRLD) - The owner of a food truck has been handing out free sandwiches to federal employees who are required to keep working during the government shutdown.
Ashlee Kleinert owns "Ruthie's Rolling Cafe" and says she would normally set up her two trucks at Klyde Warren Park at lunchtime.
Instead, she has been handing out free sandwiches at places where federal workers are still on duty. Thursday, she gave lunch to employees at the Earle Cabell Federal Building in Downtown Dallas.
"These people are coming to work and not getting paid. It's a humanitarian thing. We want to thank you for doing your work," Kleinert says. "We need you, and we don't think about all the government jobs that are out there making our lives easier."
"There's no telling when it's going to stop," said one man in line Thursday afternoon. "I think they've got trenches 50 feet apart, and they're just digging in."
Another said he does not know when to expect a paycheck, but he appreciates the support from strangers offering something as simple as a grilled cheese sandwich.
"It's kind of hard not knowing what the future is, but with companies like this that will help us with a free lunch, that's a very good thing," he says.
Wednesday, Kleinert says she gave out 600 sandwiches to federal employees in at the Customs and Border Protection office in Irving. Next week, she says she will make stops at the airports.
"You've missed two paychecks, it's no fault of your own. You've got bills to pay, you've got things to do," Kleinert says. "We're just here to lighten the load a little bit."