Standing in the middle of a parking lot in suburban Washington, surrounded by hundreds of federal employees waiting for food handouts amid the US government shutdown, Diane Miller summed it up simply.
"How am I gonna eat?" the 74-year-old public servant asked bitterly.
When her turn came, she showed her government employee card and received two boxes, one with fresh fruits and vegetables, the other with shelf-stable goods.
Every bit of it is necessary since her paycheck went to zero.
The vast majority of federal employees have been furloughed since October 1 and are going without income because a budget impasse between Republicans and Democrats has forced a shutdown of the government.
Overall, more than 600,000 federal workers have been affected by the shutdown, according to media rep