Working mom struggles to make ends meet, buy food for family

February 16, 2022

Rising food costs, increasing gas prices impact working families – negatively. Paychecks go toward housing and utilities, so not much is left when it’s time to buy food. Wilmington resident, Lisa, found herself dealing with these challenges each week. She knows what it’s like to go hungry so that her 12-year-old son can have dinner.

“I have a fairly decent job but at the end of the month, it’s either pay the bills or go to the grocery store,” she said. A native Delawarean, she and her husband spent 12 years in Indiana, but when her husband passed away she moved back to live closer to family. At the suggestion of a Christiana Care therapist, Lisa reached out to the Food Bank to help alleviate the food insecurity at home. “Nothing is worse than telling your 12-year-old there’s no money left for a snack. He comes home from school and he’s hungry. He’s not allowed to use the stove, but he can use the microwave and smaller appliances. He can eat like it’s going out of style,” she said. “I’ve gone without meals so he could eat.”

That’s how her enrolling her son in our Backpack program helps too; the backpack – weekend meals for kids – arrives each week with the food box. “The food is quick and easy, things he can prepare himself.”

Lisa receives her weekly food box through our home delivery service in partnership with Amazon, and is able to prepare nutritious meals with the contents. “My husband was a chef, so I picked up a little something from him,” she explained.

Even when she has money for allocated for food, she noticed the increased costs impacts her budget. “It’s insane how the price is going up. The price of meat is unbelievable. We eat a lot of eggs in my house,” Lisa said.

She’s grateful for the weekly box of staples. “All of this helps supplement what I’m able to bring in the house.”

To learn more about home delivery programming at the Food Bank of Delaware, please click here.

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