Maria’s Story
“Thank you for Helping my family.”
Maria and her family of four have fallen on hard times. Her husband had a good job and provided for his Maria and their children. An injury has left him unemployed. With a language barrier, having to care for her husband, and having her children at home, Maria is unable to work. Now they can barely afford their monthly rent let alone afford to buy enough food. The family is struggling.
Determined to feed her family and without a car, Maria relies on a friend to take her to St. Mary’s Food Bank twice a month. She said, “Without St. Mary’s, we would not have any food and wouldn’t be able to survive.”
Other families near Maria are in the same situation. She helps take care of three other children from the neighborhood when their parents find some work and she makes sure they eat something when they are with her. Everyone works together to get by, hoping for better days ahead.
Maria walked to the neighborhood school for help today. The school is closed to students, but open to struggling parents. St. Mary’s created a School Pantry inside the school. Parents can now visit the Pantry to ‘shop’ for much-needed groceries to feed their families. “We are so grateful to have this. It is all we have,” Maria said. “I cannot afford to buy food for my family.”
Maria wants you to know that your life-saving donations and support of St. Mary’s are much appreciated. “Thank you for helping my family,” she said. “Thank you for caring about us.”
