It's not often you see something that warms your heart and breaks it at the same time.
But that was the case Friday afternoon at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.
The North Texas Food Bank and Tarrant Area Food Bank trucked in pallets of cereal, rice, canned vegetables, and more so they could set up makeshift food pantries in the employee parking lots.
Then, they waited for TSA, FAA and Customs & Border Patrol employees to show up and start going through them.
"Your heart goes out to them," said Amie Hebidge, Associate Executive Director for the Tarrant Area Food Bank. "They're getting their jobs done because it is a security necessity. And they're doing that without pay. The last thing they need to worry about is food."
But the longer the partial government shutdown lasts, the more those concerns grow.
"A lot of these folks, they haven't had to come out and use our services before," said Hebidge. "It can be very humbling, pride gets in the way. We've seen a few cars pull in today and turn away. When they come in groups, things are better."
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Non-federal employees at DFW Airport volunteered to man the stations and help walk their federal counterparts through the process.
The food banks also provided them with information about additional resources that are available to help them.
They'll do a similar setup for affected employees at Dallas Love Field Monday.
