WASHINGTON 鈥� A passel of Montgomery County, Maryland, restaurants are pooling resources to throw a potluck for furloughed feds and contractors.
The Shutdown Social is set for Friday from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at Montgomery Blair High School, at 51 University Blvd. East in Silver Spring.
Councilmember Tom Hucker is the host, and 17 restaurants are donating food and drink, and musician and labor activist Joe Uehlein will play, along with special guests including the Northwood High School drumline. You don’t have to be a fed to come, but organizers are asking people to bring packaged, store-bought food as well.
Hucker said he鈥檚 talked to a bunch of furloughed feds and contractors and said they鈥檝e 鈥渢aken it on the chin and need some support.鈥�
Even though the House and Senate have each voted to give federal workers (though not contractors yet) back pay when the shutdown ends, no one knows when that will be, and Hucker said workers don鈥檛 know which bills they can pay, or when they can count on money coming in again.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e having a hard time,鈥� Hucker said. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have an end in sight. Even people with good salaries tell me they鈥檙e eating all the fish sticks out of the bottom of the freezer.鈥�
He added that many are suffering under the misconceptions a lot of people have of feds.
鈥淢any of them have been unfairly criticized, because they see the president and other commentators saying they should just enjoy their vacation. Well, of course, nobody asked for this; nobody is on vacation. Everybody would rather be back at work. And 鈥� some of them work at the gift shop at the Smithsonian, or they do landscaping at a federal agency or they work at a cafeteria, and they make 30,000 or 40,000 in a good year. And now they鈥檙e not getting paid.鈥�
So the point of the night is not only a meal but support. 鈥淚 figured if we can offer them a night out with their families when they haven鈥檛 been able to go out for dinner in a couple of weeks, and to be in a supportive environment, hear some music and meet some of their neighbors, they would really appreciate that.鈥�
Greg Whelan, the co-owner of McGinty鈥檚 Pub, in Silver Spring, is sending over shepherd鈥檚 pie and vegetables. He told Hucker the night was 鈥渁 great idea.鈥� As the shutdown drags on, 鈥減eople are concerned about bills and mortgages.鈥� 鈥淚t was just a natural instinct to say yes.鈥�
It鈥檚 not his first shutdown; they鈥檝e been around for 13 years, and he鈥檚 鈥渄efinitely noticed a dropoff鈥� in his own business since Dec. 22.
He said people were 鈥減retty relaxed鈥� in the first day or two, but now he sees 鈥渁 grave concern to people coming in. They鈥檙e talking about making their mortgages and paying their bills.鈥�
Anyone interested in coming needs to RSVP; Hucker said more than 500 people have already done so. You can go to to add your name.
草莓传媒’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report.
