Melinda sometimes pays a bill instead of buying food.
She and her husband live in Ocala on disability income and $23 in SNAP benefits each month. Their home is a 30-year-old RV.
Finding the food pantry at Hope Lutheran Church’s Lake Weir Campus, or Hope Lake Weir, has truly been a lifeline for them.
“Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to buy food because we have to pay our bills,” Melinda said with certainty. “Before we started coming here, a lot of times we were going hungry, just because we had no choice.”
Hope Lake Weir is one of Second Harvest of Central Florida’s more than 800 feeding partners. The pantry helps about 150 households each week. Starting in October, they will also offer a mobile distribution once a month on Saturdays. This efficient drive-thru model will allow the pantry to expand access to food on weekends, especially for working families.
Debbie, the pantry director, said the people they help include both families and seniors. Many say that higher rent and utility costs are big financial challenges.
“They say if it wasn’t for us, they couldn’t make it, especially the seniors,” Debbie shared.
Melinda can bring home meat, produce, bread, and other basics. She says the food is healthy and good quality.
“My husband and I are both heart patients,” she explained. “He’s had five heart attacks. We have to watch what we eat, and the food here is always healthy.”
Grateful for the help they received over the past year, Melinda and her husband decided to volunteer at the pantry.
Hope Lake Weir also gives out donated clothes, household goods, and personal care items to neighbors who come for food. Melinda helps sort these items and assists people in choosing what they need.
“That’s something I wanted to do, to give back,” she said. “Money, I don’t have a lot of, but I’ve got my time and I’m willing to help. I got two hands.”
Neighbors waiting in line at a recent distribution also expressed gratitude for the support they receive at the pantry.
Even with long-standing, full-time employment, Samantha finds it difficult to afford all the basics.
The 26-year veteran school bus driver has received food assistance from Hope Lake Weir for several years and said it helps her family get through the month. Her Summerfield household of five includes her disabled adult son and two young grandchildren.
“It helps when we have extra food,” she said. “If we run out of money or not, we have that food as a backup. This helps a lot.”
Samantha says her family gets meat, fresh fruits, and vegetables, and that the meat helps most with grocery costs. They can also get important items like laundry soap and shampoo.
“Without (the pantry) we’d just spread stuff out further like you do,” Samantha said. “It would be harder.”
She knows she can rely on the pantry for food, but it’s the friendly people there who make her feel welcome and keep her coming back.
“They’re just lovely people,” Samantha said. “I sure love them. They’re very friendly, down-to-earth, and they give pretty good stuff. It’s a big, big blessing.”
Food and financial donations allow Second Harvest and its feeding partners to support kids, families and seniors across Central Florida. Your support makes it possible to distribute enough food for 300,000 meals daily to neighbors like Melinda and Samantha.
