Cumberland County leaders and nonprofit organizations are bracing for the next wave of effects caused by the ongoing shutdown of the United States government, and are arranging for resources to reduce the pain.

The county government is compiling a list of options for people who have lost income, or who will lose government benefits like food assistance programs. It lists local charities, food pantries, and employment resources and has other information. This can be found at https://www.cumberlandcountync.gov/resources 

People may also call the 211 hotline for advice on assistance or visit nc211.org.

The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners held an emergency meeting on Oct. 24 to learn more about the impending troubles and announce efforts to prepare. It included local leaders such as the mayors of Hope Mills, Godwin, and Wade, and Scott Embry, executive director of the United Way of Cumberland County. U.S. Rep. David Rouzer had a staff person attend remotely.

The federal government shut down October after Congress and the president failed to enact a new budget for the 2026 fiscal year, which started on Oct. 1. The first effects of the shutdown were largely confined to government employees, such as furloughs of civilian workers at Fort Bragg, and anyone who used the services those workers provided.

The next effects are anticipated to strike lower income people.

Here are some of the consequences for Cumberland County if Congress, including North Carolina Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd, and U.S. House Reps. Richard Hudson and David Rouzer, fail to pass a budget and reopen the government soon:

In November, 33,000 low income households may see food and nutritional services and SNAP benefits “disrupted or delayed,” county Social Services Director Brenda Jackson said on Friday. This is about one out of every four of the county’s more than 131,000 households (as of 2023).

After Nov. 15, 12,000 pregnant women and mothers of infants will stop receiving food through the Women Infants and Children program (known as WIC), county Health Director Jennifer Green said.

The county is waiting to find out how much money it will receive in December and later to help lower income people pay their heating bills, Jackson said. Funding is expected for people aged 60 and older with special needs, but there has been no information for other recipients.

Jackson advised people who might lose nutrition benefits to stock up on foods that are shelf-stable, such as canned goods, rice, and beans.

In the Fayetteville area, since the shutdown began most federal civilian workers at Fort Bragg have been sent home without pay. Teachers in the military families’ schools on Fort Bragg continue to work, but without pay. The U.S. Army Airborne & Special Operations Museum in downtown Fayetteville is closed.

Separate from the federal government shutdown, the North Carolina legislature has failed to pass a full budget for its current fiscal year, which started July 1. (Lawmakers have approved partial spending appropriations.)  Starting in November, the lawmakers’ failure to pass a budget is projected to cause cuts in payments of 3% to 10% to doctors and hospitals that treat people who use the government’s Medicaid insurance program.

“We continue to stay in communication with them every day to understand where they are, how we can be of assistance, in finding a solution,” County Commissioners Chair Kirk deViere said.

“I want you to know that we are advocating as a body for a solution,” he said. “But I think our biggest responsibility is while they’re working through trying to find a solution, that we actively take care of the citizens of this community.”

If Congress and the N.C. General Assembly continue to fail to pass their budgets, the county leaders are seeking “to the best of our abilities, take care of our neighbors,” deViere said.

Commissioners Vice Chair Veronica Jones said she plans to hold Cumberland County’s Raleigh and Washington politicians accountable as the shutdown drags on. “It’s not acceptable,” she said.

She told CityView she plans to ask people in the community to sign a petition demanding that the leaders approve their budgets, she plans to have the situation discussed at a meeting of the county Democratic Party (Jones is a Democrat), and she wants the Board of Commissioners to pass a resolution expressing its displeasure with the situation.