NORTHSHORE'S FOOD PANTRY - HELPING TO

STAVE OFF HUNGER IN THE COMMUNITY

"I am a stay at home mom to 4 girls whom I home school. Our only income is my husband's job. We fall into the middle income bracket and we are not 'swimming in debt'. We did have some financial setbacks this year such as hospital bills (just for stitches) and my husband's 2 hour a day commute. About 4 or 5 months ago our budget was stretched to the max. We already have very little extras, no cable, we very rarely eat out and we dropped piano lessons for our 3 oldest girls. I started cleaning the dance studio in exchange for tuition so that my girls can continue dancing. All that and we were still struggling and money for food seemed like the only place to pull from." (source: The one dollar diet blog) It's a story we are hearing more often, and one that is affecting one out of ten of us. It's about the economy and the results in human terms. I myself have several friends facing hard times because of job loss, home foreclosure and the overwhelming debt and humiliation that most often follows. Surprisingly, 80 percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck; we are just one paycheck away from a crisis. Unfortunately, as the economy cycles down, the crisis has become a reality for many families who never thought it would happen to them. Northshore's food pantry is one way that volunteers are relieving some of the pressure on families in need. Over the past two years demand for food and essentials has doubled. Each month 50 - 60 food baskets go out to families in our community; last year 850 food baskets were distributed (including Thanksgiving and Day of Sharing). Each basket contains beans/rice/pasta, canned meat/veggies/fruit and soups, peanut butter and jam, brownie/cake/cookie mixes, cereal, flour, sugar, syrup and toiletries. Some boxes also may contain baby food, diapers, and sometimes even pet food!