The longest government shutdown in history ended on Wednesday, Nov. 12, lasting a total of 43 days. This shutdown began on Wednesday, Oct. 1, because Congress had difficulty approving a federal spending plan. A shutdown occurs when Congress cannot pass bills to fund federal agencies and programs such as the National Park Service, Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). 

As a result, government services were paused for 43 days, leaving federal agencies short-staffed or operating without pay. Flights were delayed, and people on federal food assistance programs experienced delays in receiving benefits.

The shutdown concluded on when the House approved the new funding bill in a 222-209 vote on Nov. 12. President Trump signed the bill just hours later.

The B focused on how the shutdown impacted airway travel and food insecurity in the Burlingame community.

During the government shutdown, the FAA, which oversees safety and efficiency in airport operations by organizing aircraft and airports, saw a surge of air traffic controllers calling out of work in October after going weeks without pay, according to CNBC. 

Since then, more than 7,200 flights have been delayed and 2,200 canceled as of Nov. 15, according to NBC News. Starting Nov. 5, the United app also announced, “The U.S. government is restricting flights due to the ongoing federal government shutdown… Check your flight status to see if your upcoming flight was affected.” The notice was removed after the shutdown ended. 

On Thursday, Nov. 6, senior Gaelle-Anne Foy was on her way to Phoenix, Arizona for a soccer tournament when her flight was delayed for two hours due to a shortage of aviation workers.

“It’s kind of unfortunate, because I was kind of nervous that my flight was gonna get canceled, since so many of them had and I’ve been looking forward to this trip for a while.” Foy said.

Foy said she first learned about the shutdown in her government class.

“I don’t really know too much about it, but from what we’ve learned in gov class, I think there’s a lot of pettiness going on,” Foy said. “I feel like it’s being dragged out a lot, and I think that there’s people’s lives that are being affected.”

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said an end to the government shutdown would not immediately restore air traffic controllers, as it will take time for workers to return to work. 

Airlines including United Airlines continue to face scheduling issues despite the shutdown ending. On its app, United said, “The FAA is requiring airlines to reduce their schedules. Our schedule changes for today through Friday, November 14, are now in place.”

On Nov. 13, freshman Zoe Roitman was scheduled to fly to New Orleans, Louisiana to visit her sister in college, but her flight was delayed two hours. Though the government shutdown had ended, Roitman said service remained slow.

“This is the day that the government turned back on, but it caused everything to be extra slow because there were less workers, and that caused us to come to our destination much later than we intended to,” Roitman said. “I didn’t really think that [the government shutdown and aviation] were correlated, so I was kind of shocked to see how much it affects everyday life.”

For history teacher Annie Miller, the shutdown highlighted existing problems, especially the pre-existing shortage of air traffic controllers.

“One example of this is that air traffic controllers, it’s a really hard job. It takes very tough people. We already don’t have enough of them,” Miller said. “And so I think every time we have a government shutdown, what’s the incentive for a young person starting off in their career to go into a field like that, when the government can’t get their act together and they don’t get paid? And so I think it exacerbates a problem that is already there and makes it much worse.” 

Established in 1964, SNAP is the federal program that supports low-income households by providing Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards to afford groceries. These cards function like debit cards and are loaded monthly with SNAP benefits for families to use at participating restaurants and stores. SNAP serves around 41.7 million Americans each month as of 2024, making it the largest anti-hunger program in the country.

Families can use SNAP benefits to buy foods including fruits and vegetables, meat and fish, dairy products, cereals and breads, and more. In a situation like the recent government shutdown, SNAP recipients may face temporary delays or lose access to food assistance for a period of time. The amount of benefits loaded onto an EBT card can fluctuate, potentially decreasing the amount of SNAP benefits an individual receives.

The San Mateo Union High School District (SMUHSD) Board of Trustees passed the “SMUHSD Initiative to Support Students With Food Insecurity” on Thursday, Nov. 6, to provide food assistance to families in need.

Because the initiative only runs through Dec. 21, Trustee Ligia Andrade Zúñiga said a long-term solution is needed for food insecurity.

“Despite this immediate need, people are always hungry,” Andrade Zúñiga said. “This happens all year long. [The district was] going to talk about what to do when everybody comes back from break. That’s great, but I think there needs to be something ongoing.”

To address food insecurity in the local community, Burlingame’s Students in Action (SIA) club is using one of its key initiatives to help those in need: the annual Thanksgiving food drive.

For this drive, SIA partnered with Samaritan House of San Mateo, a nonprofit organization that serves people who struggle with poverty, including food insecurity. From Nov. 4-21, SIA encouraged the student body and community to donate necessities to their local food drive. 

SIA president and senior Libbey Kwok reflected on the impact she hopes the drive will have on the Bay Area.

“Some of my co-workers have told me that the lunch ladies on their day off volunteer to give groceries to the people that have been cut off from the SNAP benefits,” Kwok said. “I definitely know, by talking to other people, that food insecurity is a huge problem right now, and I hope that there’s more of a direct impact in terms of real world issues today.”

SIA co-advisor Carrie Hermann helped the club create and promote the drive, connecting with the Samaritan House to identify areas of support. Hermann said she found many community organizations currently serving those impacted by food insecurity.

“If there are individuals and families, and there are people really challenged by food insecurity, there are organizations that can help them, including the Samaritan house and Silicon Valley, Second Harvest Food Bank, those organizations; that’s their mission.” Hermann said. “Their mission is to support  those who are really challenged and suffering and need support in this area.”