Overcoming Hunger and Homelessness as a Teen

Michael faced homelessness in middle school, sometimes going two to three days without any food. Now, in his early 30s, he works as a flight attendant for Delta and gives back in the way he wishes someone else could have done for him when he was a kid.

“It’s not easy being hungry every day,” Michael shared. “That’s why I love my job, because it has afforded me the opportunity to donate. Because I work for the airlines, I’ve flown around the world. As much money as this country has, there shouldn’t be homelessness.”

Michael regularly donates to food banks in the cities he frequents: Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, Feeding Tampa Bay, and Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless in Atlanta. He quietly drops off donations he purchases at grocery stores, focusing on healthy food that lasts longer like tuna and rice. He also donates hygiene products.

“I try to put myself back in the position of what I would have appreciated when I was homeless,” Michael said. “I just needed the basics.”

Michael credits the free meals he received from school for getting him through such a difficult time. He would save the free breakfast he received to eat for lunch and then save his lunch for dinner to make the most of the two meals. He says he rarely eats breakfast to this day since he became so accustomed to going without it.

“Free school meals saved my life,” Michael shared. “I never understood kids who hated school lunch. To this day I love school lunch since it was the only food that I had and I never complained about it.”

Help kids who rely on school meals still receive food over the summer by donating to Healthy Kids Healthy Summer here. Learn more about the Healthy School Meals for All initiative here.