When Sharima, a single mother of two, first started volunteering at her local food pantry five years ago, she didn’t expect to one day need its services. She had a job, but money was still tight.
“There came a time that I started classes, kids got into the teenage zone, appetites were high,” she says. “My groceries, bills and everything, it just wasn’t adding up.”
Today, Sharima works full time as a dialysis technician, but she arranged her days off so she could continue to volunteer on distribution days.
“I don’t see how I would have completely made it on my own,” she says. “Without this program, I don’t think my son or my daughter would have been healthy.”
They love the bread, meat, fruits and vegetables they receive at the pantry. Sharima encourages her children to help with distributions, too.
“I always want them to know the importance of giving because you never know when the table’s going to turn,” she says. “People think because you work you don’t need the help.”
The pantry helped her when she needed it, she says. “They have done so much for me,” she says. “I can never pay them back.”
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