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feeding hope: Joel and maria’s story
Cars lined up almost a mile long in the streets of Grandview with people waiting for Second Harvest’s Mobile Market food distribution to begin. Sitting in their white Ford pickup, Joel and Maria have been waiting for over an hour.
This is their first time attending a Mobile Market event, and their relief is visible on their faces. “A friend told us about it. I don’t even know what we’ll be getting, but I’m already so happy this is here,” Maria said. Joel followed up with, “I’m happy she told us to come early!”
Both Joel and Maria are still working, but at very reduced hours. Joel works in landscaping, and business has been much slower than normal this year. Maria is a house cleaner and says, “There’s only about a quarter of the houses I usually clean. It’s been very hard.”
“This is an answer to our prayers. thank you so much, and god bless you.”
They’re grateful that Joel’s mom, Esther, lives with them and can help with their two kids – ages two and four. It’s allowed Joel and Maria to be more flexible picking up odd jobs or helping friends for some extra cash. But, even with the extra help, it’s been a difficult year. The odd jobs have started to slow down, and the bills have begun to pile up.
“We’re really scared because it seems like this will never end,” Maria said. They’re worried that if things don’t change soon, they’ll have to move to Texas to live with Maria’s brother. That’s why they’re so relieved to be receiving help from Second Harvest today. “This is going to be so helpful. Thank you, thank you.” Joel said.
“This is an answer to our prayers,” Maria said. “Thank you so much, and God bless you.”
Gonzaga’s Dusty Stromer and Zilch: Teaming up to end hunger – March 29
Dusty Stromer understood from a young age that while his family had enough to eat, others in his circle were not so fortunate. Dusty had a courtside seat to food insecurity — he says that by age 10, he knew some of his friends came from households where food was not reliably available.
A freshman shooting guard on the men’s basketball team at Gonzaga University, Dusty recently got a close look at the fight against hunger by touring Second Harvest’s warehouse and helping to distribute free food through its Zilch program.
Grocery Rescue: Changing lives daily – March 22
Your visit to a local grocery store may seem like a routine, unimportant chore. That perfect strawberry, tomato or apple you select is made possible because different departments of your neighborhood store carefully maintain a standard for each product. But what happens when the banana is too green, or the strawberries are too ripe? That product is stranded and without rescue would find its way to the landfill. Thanks to stores partnering with Second Harvest’s Grocery Rescue program, that nutritious food is shared with partner agencies throughout the 26 counties in Eastern Washington and North Idaho served by Second Harvest.
Winter 2024 Newsletter – March 15
Check out the latest news from Second Harvest. Serving people facing hunger across the Inland Northwest.
Feeding Eastern Washington and North Idaho
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