Real Stories of Hunger in America

my husband's been underemployed for quite a long time it's humbling of course we thought for sure he'd be employable with this master's degree I've never been a high-powered high earning individual but I always I guess I always had a lot more leeway than I realized to be counting whether or not I want to buy baking soda this week it's kind of an interesting state of affairs and we were glad to find a source for some regular staples to supplement our income all the stories that you hear in the news of people losing their home or being out of work for long periods of time or being disabled I've always wondered how do those people survive how do they make it month-to-month week to week and now I have first-hand experience it ok it's really the kindness of strangers and all the bad that makes it makes it happen in 96 we were married in 97 we decided to buy this house she had three jobs and I had two jobs as a loan officer processor underwriter we closed in November in January I get laid off Kim is now pregnant and she had some little bit of complications such that the doctor said you better stop working both of us were out of jobs we didn't have any income coming in so I decided to go out on my own I got my broker's license and was totally independent running a home-based business I taught her how to become a loan processor we built a fairly large business the volume was more than most CEOs make it started about 2007 loan industry started to crash and started to affect us and there were no loans and no loans were coming I got two kids I got a family it's not easier now to ask for help we don't believe in just giving up that goes in with the pantry is it beneath me no cuz I'd do anything to feed my family it's really about looking at what's important in life it doesn't matter what you do grow up my dad built the saddles and boots and shoe cobbler yeah I don't want anything to do with it man I went to college got a degree but Here I am right back where I started I lost my job about this house in Jean and I lost my job that October so it's how long I had been here yeah interview for a lot of jobs but nobody was hiring yeah for a while I was doing whatever I could do you dig ditches yes I do love to come and dig your ditch there's couple weeks for Christmas I realized man I don't have any money waiting food my lectures gonna get turned off me my buoyancy sitting here in the dark on Christmas the food bank that's a that's a pretty neat place today nobody looks down on Ian nobody makes you feel you know like you're a bum because you're in there and you need some help which is how I felt in the beginning I don't want to ask for help you know I don't never have to ask for help before different world when you're a single parent and there's no help I don't know how many ways that fee just helped me not only the food feed me and you know nourish me and give us something to fill our stomachs but man it's just meant so much more to me because it's allowed me to do things for my son I that I couldn't do otherwise it became necessary to turn to my local food pantry when my husband lost his job he was a full-time nurse and we relied heavily on his income we had that security we just seemed to have that security it was a steady a steady job and we relied on it it just never presumed for one minute that he wouldn't be working it's been a humbling experience but it's been a positive experience it's easy to lose appreciation for the important the really important things food shelter clothing companionship and it's it hasn't been an easy it hasn't been an easy ride the last year and a half's been been difficult I didn't realize what it was like to be on the other end of the table until I was there myself it got us through a really tough time and I appreciate it and everyone who gives to the food bank I don't know if they realize that there are so many levels of society that people have lost their positions for whatever reason they were glad to help that was it was obvious I was about more than just the food it was about encouragement and helping other people out when they needed it

Channel: FoodBankNN

Views: 75,853

Keywords: Food Bank, Feeding America, hunger, SNAP, Real Stories, Vicki Escarra

Id: Tfr3jxezvLE

Length: 5min 24sec (324 seconds)

Published: Wed May 30 2012