Take a Walk in My Shoes

I realized something this past weekend.

Before I faced financial hardships in my life - it really was the little stuff I took for granted.

Stopping at Taco Villa for a medium coke - and not having to check to see if it was happy hour!

Pulling into the gas station and just fillin' her up - instead of just putting in $5, $10, or whatever change I could did up.

Shopping at the grocery store and being able to purchase the garlic-parmesan cheese bread from the bakery - instead of the 'regular' bread on the bread aisle or worse, the bakery thrift store.

Poverty was difficult to swallow. Hunger was even worse.

Although those times are behind me, I want to share with you - give you an inside glimpse into Hunger and Poverty. I want to spend several of my next blogs introducing you to my old friends. You see, I have discovered that even here - in our Food Banking world - we often talk about these two as subjects or causes to rally rally around. They are not. For many of our clients they are their first thought of the day as they hear their child's tummy growl as they send them to school without breakfast and no dinner the night before. Some of our clients take Hunger and Poverty to their pharmacy as they are forced to make choices about medication or meals.

Hunger and Poverty were my secret. Like most of our clients, I didn't want people to see how bad things were for me. I didn't want people to know I was seven moths pregnant and sleeping on the floor of my one bedroom apartment because I had sold all my stuff to pay rent. No one knew the night I came home and flipped the light switch and nothing happened. No lights, no heat and there I found myself in a dark, cold apartment as the snow began to fall outside.

The things I went through really don't even hold a candle to some of the obstacles our clients face. I really can't even begin to imagine how they feel, but I want you to take a journey with me. See just a peek of what they go through. Please, come take a walk in my shoes.