The 160 workers at Transylvania Vocational Services were still filling orders this week. But the company is running on reserves, and jobs are at risk. The biggest customer – the federal government – has stopped paying its bills.

TVS is a federal contractor in western North Carolina that supplies products such as dry milk and baking mix to food banks around the country and to relief efforts in Africa. A few days ago, CEO Jamie Brandenburg met with employees, many of whom are disabled, to say the company’s reserves could support their work through the middle of February, while he searches for commercial business not vulnerable to a government shutdown.

The partial federal shutdown, now in a record fourth week, means missed paychecks for more than 800,000 government workers. But it also threatens an untold legion of workers in private companies that do business with affected agencies.

[The shutdown threatens the promise of government jobs – and a way of life]

“Most of what’s getting a lot of attention from the public is the federal employees,” Brandenburg said, “and I’m very sympathetic. But when the government opens back up, they get back pay. The contractors are getting overlooked.”

TVS is one of almost 10,000 companies that hold contracts with federal agencies affected by the government shutdown, according to an analysis of government contractor data by The Washington Post. The data, although incomplete and frozen by the shutdown, still shows a snapshot of the risk to contractors, their employees and communities. The overall average value of their work: about $200 million a week.