Former Federal Workers Launch Series of Food Drives
Food drives at "NIH Vigil and No Kings event" will serve communities affected by the shutdown
October 14, 2025 — As the government shutdown continues, a coalition of current and former federal workers are joining together to support affected employees and contractors through a series of community food drives. The next event will be held Saturday, Oct 18, 2025 starting at 9:00 AM outside the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Welcome Center and Medical Center Metro Station. This event will coincide with a No Kings event sponsored by NIH Vigils at the same date and location. Elected officials have been invited to attend, and we will share program details closer to the event. The effort is being championed by 27 UNIHTED, an NIH of former NIH workers formed in early 2025 to support NIH workers and advocate for the NIH, in Partnership with wellfed, an organization supporting federal employees and contractors through career transitions, professional development, and wellness programs. NIH Vigils have been held every Saturday since early May in front of the NIH. The vigils formally recognize the lives, knowledge, and programs lost since January 2025.
This food drive will help address heightened need for food services leading up to and during the government shutdown. In addition to straining federal food assistance programs, the government shutdown has left hundreds of thousands of working and furloughed federal workers without pay, increasing the risk of food insecurity and financial hardship. These stresses are particularly acute for the many federal workers who live paycheck to paycheck, and won't be able to make ends meet during the shutdown.
For the D.C. region (and other areas of the country with large numbers of federal workers), this has added financial strain to communities already struggling under the weight of significant job loss. Since January, more than 200,000 federal workers have either been laid off or forced out of the government. Further burdening federal communities, the White House unlawfully executed a new round of Reductions in Force on October 10, firing an additional 4200 workers at agencies including the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Department of Education, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, among many others. Furthering stress, the Trump administration has threatened to unlawfully withhold back pay from as many as 750,000 furloughed federal workers.
"Federal workers have always been bound by our shared commitment to serve the public. In the face of recent attacks on our missions and on our colleagues, those bonds have only grown," said Anna Culbertson, an event organizer and founder of 27 UNIHTED. "We felt it was our duty to support not only our federal family but also our friends and neighbors in the DMV community affected by the shutdown."
Despite the acute needs created by the shutdown, some organizers believe federal communities and the broader American public will face substantially greater suffering should the dismantling of our federal agencies and public services continue. They are resolved to continue food drives and other efforts to support their community throughout the shutdown and as long as the need remains.
Other ongoing efforts to support communities affected by the shutdown include a crowdsourced spreadsheet of organizations that are providing assistance to workers who are not getting paid because of the government shutdown. In addition, federally funded entities like the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund are preparing to distribute $100 grants for those facing prolonged unpaid periods, and nonprofit groups such as the Partnership for Public Service are providing essential resources.
For more information and ongoing updates, visit https://www.27unihted.org.
Media Contacts:
27 UNIHTED: Anna Culbertson, Co-Founder 27 UNIHTED, annac@27unihted.org
wellfed: Rebecca Ferguson-Ondrey, Co-Founder wellfed, rebecca@wearewellfed.com
NIH Vigils: nihaction@gmail.com