The U.S. government is in its first shutdown in seven years after federal lawmakers are unable to agree on extending federal funding. 

Republicans and Democrats, at a stalemate on how to fund the federal government, were unable to find compromise before the Oct. 1 deadline.

Some local nonprofits in Lafayette that rely on federal grants have been preparing for a shutdown, but it’s not immediately raising alarm bells. A shutdown, at least a brief one, would have little impact on services, said Elsa Dimitriadis, executive director of the Acadiana Regional Coalition on Homelessness and Housing. 

“The only immediate effect that we would see would be that we would lose our HUD (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) field offices that we rely on for monitoring, grant management, and our TA (technical assistance) support,” Dimitriadis said. “If this is a long-term shutdown, then we do run into cashflow problems, temporary interruption in services, landlords who would not get paid.”

Other organizations, such as the anti-hunger nonprofit Second Harvest, expressed a similar position. A short shutdown would likely not impact their ability to provide food to those in need, Paul Scelfo, chief regional officer for Second Harvest, said. 

“It depends, to be honest with you, on the severity or length of the shutdown,” Scelfo said. “And right now, our operation, we’re very fortunate. We can continue to serve, but as far as over an extended period of time, it just depends on how severe it is.” 

Federal employees being furloughed or laid off would increase the demand for Second Harvest’s services, Scelfo said. According to 2024 data, Louisiana had more than 19,000 federal civilian employees. 

Meeting that increase in demand could be difficult for the organization, which has faced severe spending cuts.  It recently laid off 14% of its workforce in Louisiana to find cost savings amid a funding shortfall.  Feeding America, the umbrella organization for Louisiana’s food banks, received $1 million in state funding in August. The funding allowed for the purchase of additional food for the state’s five regional food banks. 

Scelfo said his organization is currently facing a “food crisis.”

The last government shutdown in 2018 lasted 35 days and rolled over into the New Year, marking the longest recorded shutdown in more than 40 years. Previous shutdowns typically only lasted a handful of days, with the previous record being 21 days under former President Bill Clinton in 1995.