We meet Jacqueline on a cold winter morning. It is just below 10 degrees outside — the windchill makes it feel subzero — but school is still in session, so Jacqueline wrangles the rambunctious 4-year-old she regularly takes care of and heads to her local food pantry.
The roads are icy, and she jokes that it’d be the perfect day to stay home, drink hot chocolate, and watch a movie. But instead of enjoying a cozy day indoors, Jacqueline picks up groceries for her family. As a single mother of five, she has many mouths to feed. This is her second visit to the pantry. She loads her shopping cart with milk, rice, peanut butter, fruits, and vegetables.
Jacqueline was laid off from her job not too long ago. She worked as a medical transcriptionist at a local hospital for 10 years. She never needed to visit a food pantry before, but without her regular income, her family’s budget is strained.
“We’re struggling,” she says. “With the prices of food going up, it is hard.”
While Jacqueline searches for a new job, she visits the food pantry to help make ends meet. Receiving groceries helps her pay for necessary expenses like electricity, the phone bill, and gas for their car so she can continue to take her young kids to school.
“Thank you,” she says to the generous individuals who support local hunger relief. “You really help.”