TSA employees get donations from Utah Food Bank

SALT LAKE CITY – A bit of much needed relief for TSA employees at Salt Lake International Airport.

Workers inside the airport say they’re getting closer to missing their second paycheck.  They were already under heavy financial strain, but it’s getting much harder to know what they’re going to do with their money.

One woman, who wanted to stay anonymous, says, “You’re not knowing how everything is going to fit in in your life.  Which bills are you going to pay?  Do I do rent or do I do a car payment so I can get to work?”

Even though she didn’t get an excessive amount of food from the Utah Food Bank, the two bags that she received were like a huge weight off her shoulders.  She says it’s just one less thing to be worried about.

There were two different truckloads of food for different shifts at the airport.  Utah Food Bank Executive Director Ginette Bott says they brought enough food for hundreds of people, and it includes things like pasta, beans, dried fruit and peanut butter.

“[There are] things families can use multiple times and there are also things kids can prepare for themselves, like a peanut butter sandwich or a bowl of cereal,” she says.

Bott acknowledges that this amount of food won’t last very long, but, people would be able to shift their focus away from buying groceries to filling up their gas tank, perhaps.

What happens if there are leftovers?

She says, “Whatever’s left, we’re leaving here and they’re going to provide a small pantry so that people have access to it for the next few days.”

Along with the food, Bott says they’ve placed information about nearby food pantries in the bags.