"The uncertainty is the biggest thing. People want to make plans and set goals. With this situation, you can't do that," said pastor Leon Cromartie.
ABC11 spoke with Cromartie along Hay Street as he and his family were heading to a late lunch. The U.S. Army veteran said the government shutdown often puts military families and local businesses in unpredictable situations.
"Now you got the whole family in stress. You got the children ... everything. Plans are canceled. Everything is canceled until the government opens up and there's some type of certainty," he said.
According to the U.S. Army's recruitment website, military personnel will continue in normal duty status without pay until such time as a continuing resolution or appropriations are passed by Congress and signed into law. Civilian personnel not engaged in excepted activities will be placed in a non-work, non-pay status.
Assistance for military families
"Our servicemembers take care of us. It's important we take care of them, especially in moments like this," said Daniel Diaz, spokesman for USAA Federal Savings Bank.
USAA offers a government shutdown assistance program that aims to support military families during this time.
"It centers around a zero-interest, zero-free loan equal to the amount of one net paycheck up to $6,000. It's meant to be a stopgap just in case a paycheck is missed on the 15th," he said.
Navy Federal Bank also released the following statement:
"During the previous government shutdown from December 2018 to January 2019, Navy Federal disbursed 32,000 loans totaling $53 million to 19,000 members, demonstrating our longstanding commitment to supporting members during times of financial disruption. In the current environment, we're seeing a significant uptick in participation in our paycheck assistance program, which we believe reflects the uncertainty many are feeling about a timely resolution to the ongoing shutdown."
In the meantime, food banks in the Sandhills are bracing for effects as they've already seen a 60% increase in need this year with inflation.
"We have 132 member agencies in the local area who can serve those that are needing assistance. We've seen assistance go up through the roof already this year," said David Griffin, executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of Southeast North Carolina.
Veterans such as Cromartie say they are already hearing how concerned service members are. He's hoping this shutdown doesn't last long.
"I hope our officials will get their act together and do the right thing. They need to get together, negotiate, and get the job done to get the government back open and get this country doing great again," said Cromartie.