Stories of Hope

The residents of Paisley have to travel 10 miles in any direction to reach a full-service grocery store.

Fresh options are limited in town, available food is expensive, and transportation is a barrier for many. That’s why Anita Wilson, the manager of Impact Paisley, decided to bring the food to the people who needed it in this food desert.

The food pantry at Impact Paisley in rural Lake County provides a crucial resource for neighbors facing food and nutrition insecurity.

“Out here in Paisley, there aren’t a lot of people who have cars,” Anita said. “Once you come to Paisley, it seems like people forget about us. We’re out here in the middle of nowhere. So that’s on my heart, to feed people and make sure they have enough food.”

Earlier this year, Impact Paisley met the criteria to become a certified nutritious pantry in Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida’s Nutritious Pantry Network. Bringing healthy options to the neighbors in Paisley meant access to nutritious food that wasn’t previously available.

“(The food bank) provides us nutritious food – produce, meat,” Anita said. “Meats are awesome. You can’t buy meats nearby that are as good as you can get here. I don’t think people realize that in rural communities, it can be so difficult to get fresh-grown things.”

She said a lot of the neighbors served by the pantry are unemployed people with barriers to employment, senior citizens on disability income and large families.

“We have people who lost their jobs, people who have never been to a pantry before,” Anita said. “They’re coming out and we just treat them like family. We all need to eat, don’t we?”

Jamie found the relief she needed at Impact Paisley after an injury led to her not being able to work as a postal worker anymore. After she came home from the hospital, Anita reached out to her to tell her about Impact Paisley.

“It means a lot,” Jamie said. “I know Anita, and when I could finally start getting around a little bit, she told me, ‘come up here,’ and so I started coming. It helps a whole lot, especially since my foot’s injured. I got enough probably for this week’s worth of food.”

She said the estimated $100 she saved by receiving food at the pantry would be able to go toward her bills.

“It could be anybody,” Jamie said. “Like did I ever need this before? I didn’t when I was working, but something can happen to anyone and they need help.”

Nicole, another Paisley neighbor, shared that a house fire that started while she and her family were at church put them in a tough situation.

“We pretty much lost everything so having them here to help us with food is such a blessing,” Nicole said. “Without (Impact Paisley), there’s many times we wouldn’t make it. We say we’re in dire straights now, but we’d really be in dire straights if it weren't for them.”