Nowhere else to turn

Many of our clients only use St. Mary’s services when they really need it. It’s a fallback – good to know that when things get really tough or unexpected expenses pop up, they can turn to St. Mary’s for help. Brandy and her husband both worked in grocery retail. At the beginning of the pandemic, they were working plenty of hours and making enough to get by on their own. They didn’t need come to St. Mary’s for several months.

But recently, with their hours getting cut and smaller paychecks, money won’t go far enough to cover everything, so she has returned to help feed her family.

“I know there are people who need it even more than I do,” Brandy said. “We make do with what we have, but sometimes things get really slim and there is nowhere else to turn. If we can make it on our own, we try to do that first. But I’m so grateful that St. Mary’s is here when we have no other choice.” Brandy said when she needs St. Mary’s to feed her husband and child, the amount and quality of food is always amazing.

“I didn’t know what to expect the first time I came, but the food filled the trunk of my car and we were able to use everything,” she said. “You want to make sure you use everything you can because this is such a blessing. To have gallons of milk for cooking and cereal and everything else … I couldn’t believe it!”

Brandy said she has thought about where she would turn if this food was not available to her. That makes her think about the donors who make it possible.

“I don’t know how we would make it, because we only come when it’s the last alternative,” she said. “Thank you. Tremendously … thank you to the people who are helping us. This is so important for a lot of people.”