For many, summer means vacation, pool time and spending days having fun with friends and family. For families facing hunger, summers are challenging. For Samantha and her family, summer means the lights might not come on.
A few months ago, Samantha’s grandma passed away. Without help from her family, Samantha and her husband assumed all the funeral costs. They needed $1,400 to lay her grandma to rest. It was money they didn’t have on hand.
Her husband was able to get a loan through his job and each month a portion of his check goes towards paying the loan.
Though her husband works full time, the unexpected expense caused the family to get behind on their utility bills, especially their electric bill.
The family owes $1,000 and knows that they will have their electricity cut off because they can’t afford to pay it. To help cover their expenses, the family pawns their possessions. They have had to resort to pawning her husband’s vehicle title to pay their rent and make sure they have a roof over their heads.
Though pawning their belongings helps provide money instantly, they are left with more debt since a part of their income each month has to be used to pay their pawn loans.
This summer has been tough for the family with all her children at home for the summer - Brianna, 11; Mia, 3; Gwendolyn, 14; and Eric, 12. During school, the kids have access to free and reduced price lunches. Summertime at home means Samantha and her husband will sacrifice a meal to make sure their kids don’t go hungry.
You can help provide Summer Meals That Matter to families like Samantha’s
“It’s hard sometimes. My husband and I do without a lot to make sure that they get to eat,” Samantha said. “If it’s down to the last little bit we let them have it. If we get low on food we’ll let them eat first. We put them first before everything, ahead of ourselves and everything.”
Their income isn’t enough to cover all their expenses. The family recently had their SNAP benefits decreased and run out three weeks into the month. With the tough situation at home, Samantha resorted to sending her kids to stay with family for part of the summer.
After her husband learned about the Food Bank’s Mobile Food Pantry at Caritas of Mexia from his coworker, Samantha and her two daughters went to the distribution where they filled up a grocery cart full of healthy food like canned goods, cereal, juice, meat, beans, peanut butter and fresh produce.
Thanks to an additional fresh produce donation made by H-E-B, Samantha left with cucumbers, cabbage, limes, potatoes and much more.
“We appreciate it a lot. It helps whenever we come here,” Samantha said.
Thanks to a generous matching gift challenge from the Gates and Stumberg families, your gift goes twice as far. With just $1 we can provide 8 nutritious meals. Help ensure families like Samantha’s have a meal on their table this summer.
