Washington’s economy is facing deepening trouble as the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, massive federal layoffs and food aid cuts converge to hit households and small businesses across the metropolitan area, AP reports.The Capital Area Food Bank, which supports more than 400 pantries and relief organizations in D.C., northern Virginia and two Maryland counties, is preparing to provide 8 million more meals this year than planned — an increase of nearly 20%.“This town has been particularly hard hit by a number of events that have occurred throughout this year,” said Rada Mutia, the food bank’s CEO and president.The nation’s capital, home to about 150,000 federal employees, has been plagued by layoffs, work stoppages and increased law enforcement deployments. With hundreds of thousands of workers out of work and a freeze on federal food aid, economic stress has intensified.The county’s unemployment rate was 6% in September, one of the highest in the country compared to the U.S. average of 4.3%. Economists warn that the regional impact of the shutdown will persist even after federal operations resume.There are also political repercussions: Democrat Abigail Spanberger’s victory in the Virginia governor’s race was partly driven by her focus on the economic consequences of President Donald Trump’s policies in the region.Local businesses see sales drop, jobs disappearWashington restaurants, bars and small retailers, heavily dependent on federal employee spending, reported a sharp drop in sales. The Restaurant Association of Greater Washington said many eateries, already operating at low margins, are now struggling to stay afloat as federal employees do not commute or dine.“Wage waivers are causing cash flow problems for federal workers, and that’s spreading to small businesses,” Brookings Metro Fellow Tracy Hadden Loch said, according to the AP. “Many businesses are counting on spending increases in Q4 to remain profitable for the year.”At British pub The Queen Vic in Northeast Washington, co-owner Ryan Gordon said the weekend crowd has halved. “We still had seats for people, which means the bars around us that get our overflow didn’t get anything,” he said, estimating that business has dropped by 50% since the shutdown began.Families under pressure as aid cutsThe financial burden is also pushing middle-income families into crisis. Thea Price, a former employee of the US Institute of Peace, lost her job in March after her husband lost his job as a government contractor.After relying on food assistance and SNAP savings, the couple’s payments were cut due to the shutdown. With limited options, Price leaves Washington for his hometown near Seattle.“We can’t afford to stay in this area and hope something happens,” she said. “We’re just in a much different place than when these things started.”At the Capital Area Food Bank, forklifts are working overtime to meet the growing demand. “We are focused on getting food to those who need it,” Mutia said. “But people are borrowing against their future to pay for necessities today.”
