TEXAS — As the government shutdown continues, so does the concern of folks who are federal employees. The largest number of federal workers in Texas live in San Antonio.

The San Antonio Food Bank has started doing food distributions specifically for federal workers.

The line of cars waiting outside the San Antonio Food Bank was longer than usual this week. Most in line were federal workers or their family members seeking help as the government shutdown has no end in sight.

That’s what Mark Thogmartin is in line for.

“To help my son out,” said Thogmartin.

Thogmartin’s son is a federal worker in Laredo, who, he says, had no choice but to move back home with his wife to San Antonio at least for now.

“He’s a Border Patrol officer. It’s him and his wife, and they have no income now, and they lost their apartment, so they’re living with me now,” said Thogmartin.

Border Patrol agents saw a delay in paychecks, and administrative staff aren’t getting paid at all.

Thogmartin does what he can to help his family. 

“A loaf of bread is a loaf of bread, and a gallon of milk is a gallon of milk,” said Thogmartin.

Officials with the San Antonio Food Bank said they have now doubled the number of food distributions each week to meet the need. 

“Typically, here at the food bank our curbside would be in the mornings, but we opened up the afternoon shifts just to accommodate more people,” said Eric Cooper, the president and CEO of the San Antonio Food Bank.

Cooper said he understood the government shutdown left a lot of federal workers with uncertainty. There’s a new wave of folks who have never found themselves in this position before.

“We really started to see on the first of October, federal workers looking for food assistance. We also knew that we needed to educate them, because many have never had to ask for help before on where to go and how it works,” said Cooper.

Cooper said that right now the pressure to provide is felt the most in this part of the state.

“This is Military City USA. We have the largest number of federal workers in the state of Texas here in San Antonio,” said Cooper.

The food bank serves 29 counties in the Lone Star State.

“Of the 189,000 federal workers, which includes government contractors, we estimate about 50,000  people will come as a result of the federal shutdown,” said Cooper.

He said they are ready, even as a shutdown of other federal programs like SNAP and WIC further complicates the plans. 

“We’re anxious. Where will that food come from? Now we have about 9 million pounds, almost 18 million dollars in food, in our warehouse,” said Cooper.

That could mean folks at the food bank will have to limit what they give out.

“We’re going to have to look at what we have and ration it to meet that moment in time. We’d love to give a week’s worth of groceries, but maybe it’s just six days or five days or three days. Depending on our ability to meet that need, but we will always have something,” said Cooper.

Thogmartin said his son has money put aside, but it’s still hard. He said they will take it one day at a time, knowing this isn’t his son’s first time going through it.

“He’s gone through it before, so you know. You just have to deal with it,” said Cooper.