A Story of Strength Supported by Resources
At Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, we understand that many of us are just one missed paycheck, illness, vehicle repair or home repair away from struggling to pay for groceries. These challenges are often out of an individual’s control and can tend to snowball.
That’s why the hunger relief system is such an important safety net for situations like these, helping people move forward from food insecurity into a life of stability. Susan’s story shows just how it works.
Meet Susan.
Susan is a single mother making $47,000 a year at a job she loves. It’s enough to provide for herself and her two young children. Her story is one of strength supported by resources.
She drives a modest car that is fully paid for and has been mostly reliable for many years. One day while on her way to work her car breaks down. The repairs add up to more than $1,000 (studies show that 56% of Americans can’t afford an unexpected expense of that amount). Susan had already been saving for a new car but doesn’t yet have enough to purchase one or the income to take on a monthly car payment. Her job isn’t on the bus line, and without a vehicle, she has trouble getting to work across town on time after dropping her two girls (8 and 4 years old) off at school and daycare each morning.
Susan loses her job. With a good job history, she is able to get a new one closer to home that she can walk to after making sure her kids are all set for the day. But the job closer to home doesn’t pay as much. Money is tight and she still needs to save money for a car. She finds a pantry locator map on FeedingAmericaWI.org that lists 400 Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin network pantries by location and hours. She visits one just a few blocks away.
Susan falls behind on her rent with the new lower salary, and the last thing she wants is to find a new place to live. She fears the change would traumatize her girls and make it difficult for her to get to her new job. Putting rent and utilities before groceries is a choice she is forced to make. Susan gets food from the pantry that helps her save for rent and her car fund.
While visiting the pantry Susan is connected with Mary, a FoodShare outreach specialist from Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin. Mary helps her apply for FoodShare and now Susan receives $415 each month to help with groceries. She uses the funds to shop at the local grocery store for foods that meet her youngest daughter’s dietary restrictions. It goes a long way in filling gaps between payday and pantry visits.
Since Susan applied for FoodShare, her older daughter now qualifies for free lunch at school. This helps Susan put a little more away each day for a new vehicle. She also learns from the pantry coordinator that she should look into WIC. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, WIC helps low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, as well as infants and children up to age 5 who are found to be at nutritional risk. Thanks to WIC, Susan now has an additional $60 a month to help feed her family.
It’s not long before Susan has saved enough to purchase a reliable vehicle and secure a job that pays more. Soon she is back on a stable path where she no longer needs the extra help of the food bank, its network, and the various resources.
It’s a pretty common scenario that those who are helped by the hunger-relief system return to give back to the pantry or program that helped them in their time of need. Susan begins volunteering at the pantry she visited when she struggled to make ends meet. She learns about another opportunity to help others and joins the Food Leaders Lab, a Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin group that brings members of the community together to advocate for programs that help those facing hunger. She shares her story and helps develop new initiatives for others.
There were days when Susan felt like life and its unavoidable expenses were never going to be manageable again. She worried for her girls and
wanted to provide for them. She was relieved to find assistance in her time of need from Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin and the network of resources they make available. And all the while, Susan’s kids were well fed and had no idea they were food insecure.
