The Lakewood City Council has begun a food drive amid the federal shutdown, during which federal workers have not received salaries and uncertainty hangs over a food stamp assistance program.

The council announced the Pack the Pantry food drive on Thursday to “ask the community to help working families and those in need during the federal food assistance slowdown and as the holidays approach,” according to a news release from the city.

The city placed 50-gallon bins at seven different locations throughout the city for residents to drop off non-perishable food. Those donations will then be given to the Action Center to distribute the items.

The Action Center — a nonprofit that works to provide services, free food and clothing to those in need — is located at 8745 and 8755 W. 14 Ave. and has been providing services to the city for around 60 years.

Monetary donations can be given to the Action Center at lkwd.co/PackThePantry. Non-perishable items can be taken to the Action Center or the bins at any of the locations below:

• Carmody Recreation Center, 2200 S. Kipling St.

• Clements Community Center, 1580 Yarrow St.

• Green Mountain Recreation Center, 13198 W. Green Mountain Drive

• Heritage Lakewood Belmar Park, 801 S. Yarrow St.

• Lakewood Civic Center, 480 S. Allison Parkway

• Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 S. Allison Parkway

• Lakewood Link Recreation Center, 1295 S. Reed St.

Items most in need include cereal and oatmeal, cooking oil, rice, canned meals, canned soup, canned fruit, peanut butter, granola bars, pasta and sauce, cat and dog food and holiday food, the city said.

The request for donations comes after Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, also known as food stamps, lapsed for the first time ever on Nov. 1 amid the federal shutdown. 

Around 54,300 federal workers live in Colorado, according to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment’s Unemployment Insurance Division. Around 6,000 of them work at the Denver Federal Center in Lakewood.