Stories of Hope and Courage

One in six Americans are struggling with the reality of hunger and food insecurity. Here are some of their stories.

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Mom, we have to DO something ... A few years ago, a young mother named Terri sat in her car outside a downtown Orlando elementary school and waited for her daughter Alli to walk out the door. It was a sunny day in this affluent part of town, and the kids began to stream out of the school as they did at the end of every day. But this day was different.

The Orange Carpet The pilot of the single-engine airplane slipped beneath the clouds, and surveyed miles and miles of green Central Florida farmland and countryside. As he looked down, the pilot noticed a farm field that resembled a gigantic orange carpet. From his high vantage point, the man watched with interest as several tractors actually appeared to be creating this "carpet" bit by bit.

"TGIF" Story of hope and courage.

"TGIF" Just as the final bell rang on a Friday afternoon, a third grade student named Ronald hefted his backpack and scooted slowly out of his seat. Although he had eaten a good lunch at school that day, he was already feeling hungry. As he started out of the classroom toward the bus, he recalled the previous weekend at home. There had been nothing more than a few condiments in the refrigerator, and he remembered having to pop the last of the popcorn to have something to eat. He remembered how long the weekend nights had felt with so little to eat.

Crystal's Special Day Story of hope and courage.

Crystal's Special Day It was getting late in the day recently at a local emergency food pantry, and two volunteers had already closed up shop. Just as Jim and Teri were preparing to get into their car and head for home, they saw Julia, a 40-year old mother of three drive into the parking lot. Julia quickly climbed out of her dusty gray Nissan, and flagged down the husband and wife. She explained that she had been delayed because she had just completed jury duty, and picked up the kids from afterschool care later than usual. After years of low-wage jobs and more than two months of unemployment, Julia related that she had just been hired at a new job. But her paycheck would not be received for another week. Having burned through what little savings they had, she and the kids needed help right now...

Unemployed Senior A little more than a year ago, a 58-years-young grandmother named Annie never dreamed that she would need assistance with food... After all, she had worked all her adult life at a few well-paying, seemingly secure jobs. She had been a loyal employee. Her income had helped her family put food on the table, and to afford a modest but comfortable home...

The Tuna Turkey Without even enough money for food, Ilka was determined that her children would have a Thanksgiving dinner one way or another, and that together they would celebrate and be thankful for what blessings remained in their lives. After visiting an emergency food pantry that receives food from Second Harvest Food Bank, the family was provided with some basic staple food items--including several cans of tuna.

But I'm Blessed 25-year old Cedric bags groceries at a local grocery store in Orlando. Having suffered a brain injury at age 5, he has only partial use of one arm, and drags a foot as he walks. One day, as he wheeled groceries to the car for one of our food bank's staff, Cedric talked about how much he enjoyed his job.

A Child More Excited About Food Than Toys Mary and her five-year old daughter Jessica rent a small apartment in a duplex in Orlando. A single mother, Mary works as many shifts as she can get at her food service job in order to make ends meet. Still, the ends often don't meet. Just before Christmas, Mary contacted Second Harvest Food Bank to learn whether there were any emergency food pantry programs in her area.