Jacksonville food pantries feeling impacts from government shutdown

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Nearly a week into the government shutdown, food pantries in Jacksonville say even this short time without federal funding is already creating long lines of people waiting for food and the potential for even longer-lasting financial struggles.

The government shutdown has furloughed around 42,000 employees from the Department of Agriculture—roughly half the staff of the USDA—cutting off many of those who oversee federal food aid programs.

Catholic Charities Jacksonville already serves nearly 100 families at their Arlington pantry every time they have a distribution, and they anticipate that number to increase as the shutdown continues.

Eileen Seuter, regional director of Catholic Charities Jacksonville, told First Coast News , "There are about 80,000 children in Ja