Hunger is all around us. The man standing on the street corner, the homeless woman, the waitress at your favorite restaurant, the gas station attendant, the store clerk all are at risk for food insecurity. You can help people like LaVonne*.
LaVonne, works at our local neighborhood grocery store. She is a single mother who is supporting a family of 5 on her erratic shift schedule. I shop at this particular store almost every week to purchase much needed ingredients for our noon time meals - including milk. After a few weeks, we started talking about the Southside Community Kitchen - located very near to the store, in fact, flyer hangs on the bulletin board behind the cashier station. I told her how we are open to all and let her know she would be welcome to come for a meal to help stretch her dollars.
The next week she visited the Southside Community Kitchen for the first time. LaVonne was welcomed and invited to take a seat. A warm and nourishing meal was brought to her by caring volunteers and she was offered coffee, tea, and milk to drink. She only had a short break for lunch and had to hurry to get back to work.
Since that day, when I'm at the store, she'll ask ,"What's for lunch today?" I'll share the menu for the week with her. She says we are helping her. She used to skip or limit her meals so her kids would have enough to eat. Now she enjoys a hearty well-balanced meal at the Southside Community Kitchen - the best meal of her day.
Help us to continue to meet the needs of people struggling to make ends meet like LaVonne. Your gift helps us meet this basic need in our community.
*Out of respect and privacy, LaVonne is not the real name of our guest.