Leslie Bennett is looking for ways to stay busy as the longest government shutdown in U.S. history drags on.

Bennett, a furloughed federal worker, has spent her free time cleaning her home office. She’s walked her dog — a lot. She’s looked for reasons to stay positive.

“Every day that goes by, it becomes less positive,” Bennett said.

On Thursday, Day 37 of the shutdown, it was her daughter’s middle school that gave Bennett a reason to smile.

Montgomery County Public Schools leaders invited furloughed workers to join their children on campus for what they dubbed “Federal Family Lunch Day.” It’s part of a multipronged effort to support parents as they wait to return to work and receive their paychecks.

Maryland is down more than 15,000 federal jobs since January, the largest decrease in the country. Families in Montgomery County, just a short drive from the national capital, have been hit particularly hard by the shutdown that has sent hundreds of thousands of workers home, with no idea when they’ll return to the office.

“If you’re looking for a reason to get out of the house, we’d love to have you join us for lunch at school,” Robert Frost Middle School Principal Joey Jones emailed parents. “Yep, it’s school lunch, not your favorite restaurant, but 100% good.”

Olivia, Bennett’s 14-year-old daughter, escorted her mom through the cafeteria line and then brought her to her friends’ table. Leslie Bennett instantly jumped into the eighth-grade-girl talk, surrounded by trays of chicken nuggets and pastel Owala water bottles.

“It was so sweet,” she said.

Jones brought in a DJ, who turned the cafeteria into a party with Chappell Roan and Taylor Swift music.

Parents milled around as kids jumped up to dance. Every mom and dad was handed a lunch coupon, which labeled them a VIP (very impressive parent).

Vadim Okun said he’s used his furlough weeks to spend more time with his seventh-grade son, Andrew. The school welcomed him alongside Andrew’s mother, Kate Nikitina, a contractor impacted by the shutdown.

Andrew, 13, brought a packed lunch from home but helped himself to his parents’ nuggets.

At home, Nikitina has worries about the family finances. But at lunchtime on Thursday, with Andrew wrapping his arm around her for a photo, she smiled.

Job fair

That same day, the district hosted a job fair for furloughed federal workers interested in short-term work — or a permanent career change.

Sarah Diehl, who works in the school district’s HR division, met people who have been furloughed and others who have seen their government positions eliminated.

“It’s a challenging time,” she said.

Furloughed worker Bowen Fong, 61, came to the job fair to learn about substitute teaching opportunities. The flexibility of the job appeals to him.

“It’d be a good time to get into the pipeline,” he said.

Before any federal workers start a new position in the district, officials must interview them and run background checks. That could take weeks.

“I’m available,” Fong said, “obviously, immediately.”