Lee never expected her world would turn upside down in the blink of an eye.
“Our car unexpectedly died while we were driving it,” she explains, remembering the stress of being inside a stalled car in the middle of a busy highway.
“After losing my vehicle, my job told me that unless I came within a few days, I would just be let go,” Lee remembers.
Without reliable transportation, she lost her job, and her family was in crisis. Like many families who live paycheck to paycheck, Lee’s family was just one emergency away from experiencing hunger.
“It went from being perfectly stable… to everything overnight being different,” says Lee.
Lee applied for unemployment benefits, Medicaid and every other resource she could think of, but she was denied financial assistance.
With two children—10-year-old Christian, who has autism and epilepsy, and 4-year-old Olivia, who has a compromised immune system—Lee faced impossible choices.
“I had to delay important doctor appointments for my child because I couldn’t afford them,” she said. “Choosing between my child’s health and groceries or rent was upsetting to me, because I shouldn’t have to make that choice.”
She and her husband tried everything to make ends meet. He began working six days a week and donating plasma. Lee sold cherished family collectibles and some of her artwork, but it still wasn’t enough. Bills piled up, and their electricity was turned off for a few days.
Lee found a sense of relief when she turned to a food pantry supported by Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida for help keeping food on the table.
“I was happy to find that they had good produce, good proteins, snacks for the kids—and healthier options as well,” she says. “And it’s easy. Everything is laid out. You get to choose what you prefer.
For her children, visiting the pantry became something to look forward to. “They like picking out whatever smells the best or looks the best,” she says with a smile.
“Instead of going without, you’re helping us have the food that we need,” says Lee, expressing her gratitude. Her family has stabilized thanks to the support they found at the food pantry.
“It’s helped us bridge the gap between one paycheck to another,” Lee notes. “We’re no longer two months behind on electric. We’re no longer two months behind on rent or the water bill.”
Things are looking up.
“Because of you, I no longer have to worry about putting food on the table for my kids,” says Lee, adding that now she can focus on finding a new job, enrolling her daughter back into daycare and providing her kids with more opportunities.
Because of you, Lee and her family have hope.
$10 = 40 meals
