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Source: Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.self storageOct. 11--If the partial government shutdown continues to drag on, Channel One Food Bank Executive Director Jennifer Woodford is bracing for a flood of people looking for help."Anxiety is very high, and it's all about the uncertainty," she said.If checks stop going out for veterans disability checks or child care assistance money runs out, more families will turn to food shelves for assistance. Already, the food shelf has seen an increase in people coming through the doors over the past couple of months. Woodford said staff have noticed a lot of clients coming back who haven't used the shelter in two or three years.Plenty of people are still having trouble finding work. In addition, food stamp benefits cuts that will average $36 per month for recipients take effect Nov. 1."This (shutdown) needs to be fixed. It needs to be worked out no matter what it takes," she said. "We need to remember this is not just about politics. It's about people. There's real people that will be hurting because of it."Meanwhile, talks between Republicans, Democrats and President Barack Obama ramped up on Thursday, raising hopes a deal may be within reach. House Republicans proposed raising the federal debt limit through late November to allow for negotiations on an overall budget deal. Under that plan, the government shutdown would continue. Senate Republicans are working on their own proposal that would temporarily lift the debt ceiling and end the government shutdown.Olmsted County Community Services Director Paul Fleissner said the county is working its partner agencies and organizations to put together a plan in case the shutdown and debt-ceiling issues are not resolved soon. It's something the county did during the state government shutdown in 2011.So far, Olmsted County has been able to continue providing services as usual thanks to remaining federal and state dollars. But if Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling or the shutdown continues to Nov. 1, funding for some programs would dry up."Then we've got a serious problem on our hands, and we're going to have to start prioritizing basic life and safety needs and making some decisions as a community what we are going to keep going," he said.For instance, U.S. Secretary ofmini storageVeterans Affairs Eric Shinseki told Congress Wednesday that, if the shutdown continues, veterans disability, pension and education benefit checks will not go out. Olmsted County Veterans Services Officer Neil Doyle said that medical care will continue to be provided to veterans regardless of what happens.Channel One Regional Food Bank is among the groups working with Olmsted County to craft the preparedness plan. Woodford said the nonprofit is gearing up to do all it can to help people affected by the shutdown."Whatever we can do to help in the meantime for our clients, absolutely we'll do," she said. "But we're not going to be able to be the sole source of food for thousands of families a month."A continued shutdown also could end up hurting local conservation work. Soil and Water Conservation District staff are still at work, but their federal counterparts with the Natural Resources Conservation Service are furloughed.In Mower County, farmers come into the office and look around with disbelief, district manager Bev Nordby said. They can't believe the federal offices really are closed. The Mower Soil and Water Conservation District is co-located with the Farm Service Agency and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Only the SWCD staff are at work."It doesn't affect us that much because we have our own stuff; it's the offices that don't have their own stuff that are really affected," Nordby said.The Mower SWCD owns its own computers, survey equipment and trucks.One hiccup is that the Mower SWCD can't rely on the area NRCS office for engineering sign-off on state-funded projects because the staff at the area office are furloughed. Instead, the Mower SWCD may hire a private engineering firm so projects can keep moving forward.In Dodge County, the situation is much different. The work of the SWCD is hampered because employees are unable to access their computers that they share with the NRCS. The federal directive disallows their use.District technician Tom Johnston said they are getting to things lower on the to-do list and finishing up little projects."We're still here; we're open for business," he said.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Post-Bulletin Visit the Post-Bulletin at .postbulletin.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉