Gina is a client at Still Water’s Pantry in Simi Valley.
I’ve lived in Simi Valley for approximately 15 years. I’m a single mom of five kids, three biological and two that I’ve adopted. I started coming to the food pantry three or four years ago.
At one stage my ex-husband and I had a very successful business. When he left, I had no funds to take care of my children. I’m not homeless, so I felt like I couldn’t go to a food pantry. But it didn’t matter. I needed help to feed my kids. So I put my pride down and I started looking for help and I found Food Share.
We come here weekly. The staff has been phenomenal. They reach out. They see you, they make you feel wanted, they make you feel as if you’re part of their family too.
We’ve gotten chicken and fish from here. Last week we got some plant-based meat which was great as my daughter, Gianni, is vegetarian. I just figure out meals based upon what we get. There’s a variety of fruits and vegetables, sometimes salads. It depends on what’s in season. The food we get here supplements my regular food shopping. It’s hard to afford good quality food that’s healthy.
At Thanksgiving last year, we got a turkey with all the fixings and I would not have been able to afford it last year. I was really struggling. We felt so blessed.
Comments are closed.