A Middlesex County community is offering furloughed federal workers a little relief.

Metuchen residents affected by the government shutdown are being encouraged to go to their town's official website and look for "It Takes A Borough." It's a website listing local businesses helping those struggling families.

Be My Guest Personal Chef and Catering, which has only been open for three months, is one of the many Metuchen businesses that is lending a hand to the furloughed residents by posting meals for their families at a deep discount on the site. Owner John Manzo said that when he saw the listing on the Facebook page for the town, he decided to reach out.

Metuchen Borough Council President Linda Koskoski is the brainchild behind the effort which launched Saturday. The name is a take on the popular phrase "it takes a village."

"We have people on board who are donating food, haircuts, dry cleaning discounts and services for things like that," she says.

Metuchen Mayor Jonathan Busch said that within a day, the website was set up.

"We got to be there for our residents and setting up this website and being a clearinghouse, supporting each other is the way that we're going to help our people through this and we hope other communities do the same thing," he says.

Mayor Busch stressed that if families are looking to sign up, their information will be kept confidential.