Michele feels like she’s been given a second chance at life.
After decades of being a victim of domestic violence and sexual abuse, she said
enough is enough. She sought treatment for her drug and alcoholic coping
mechanisms, found a job at a local retail shop and has gone back to school.
"My budget is so tight and I stretch it at dollar stores as
much as I can, but people need to eat. It's just a fact of life," Michele
explains. Her rent and bus passes eat up most of her income. What little she
has leftover she spends on food and tries to set aside for a laptop to do her
schoolwork.
Michele turns to a Second Harvest food pantry for help
making ends meet. She is just one of the 53,000 people a day that access a
Second Harvest feeding partner to feed themselves and their families.
"Second Harvest is a great place to get help from. They love
the community and want to help people," she says with thankfulness.
Thanks to people like you, Michele is heading home with a
shopping bag filled with pantry staples like canned goods, cereal, and soups,
but also fresh items, like lean meats and produce. She says, "And I’m grateful
for that."