In efforts to support military members and civilian employees at Scott Air Force Base during the government shutdown, a restaurant has served at least 600 free meals and a business association has collected $15,000 in donations.
The Metro East military base employs roughly 13,000 people counting active-duty members, civilians and contractors. While the service members got paid this week, roughly half of civilians at military installations had been furloughed. At Scott, there are 5,300 civilian government employees.
Soulcial Kitchen, a restaurant and food truck park in Swansea, has been giving away free meals, along with other partner restaurants, since the shutdown began at the start of the month. Founder John Michel, a retired Air Force general, said his team is planning to add food trucks on Fridays because there has been a growing demand as the shutdown lingers on…