Struggling to feed themselves in the suburbs

I visited two Mobile Foodshare sites today, one at First Church of Christ in Glastonbury and one at St. John's Episcopal Church in East Hartford.  Both sites served over 100 households and distributed lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, onions, sweet potatoes, and oranges.

As we were winding down the East Hartford site, one of the volunteers came to talk to me.  Turns out we were neighbors when I lived in East Hartford a number of years ago.  She told me that her husband is totally disabled, including being blind.  Over the years, as his health deteriorated and he could no longer work, they struggled to survive.  She said that their health insurance cost them $1,100 per month and that she spent every penny of their savings and was in danger of losing their home before he started receiving disability benefits.

During this period of struggle, the Town of East Hartford Social Services office referred her to Mobile Foodshare.  She told me that she did not know how she and her husband would have survived if they had not received this help with food.  And now she volunteers a couple of times a week at Mobile Foodshare sites in East Hartford and Hartford as a way to pay it back!

All I could say was, "thank you!"  Thank you for sharing your story and thank you for volunteering at Mobile Foodshare.

Gloria