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Food Shelf Stories
"I was struck that my kid’s classmates could possibly be going to school hungry in the morning. I decided to partner up with our other neighbors to make a bigger difference."
─ Curt Rons, Volunteer
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A gateway to a student’s reading success
Taylor entered third grade in the fall of 2009. 360 Communities Family Support Worker, Carissa, was made aware of Taylor’s complaints that he was hungry and that his family did not have any food to eat in the house. At conference, Carissa asked his mom about Taylor being hungry at school. His mother explained that she works full-time and she was waiting until pay day to afford food.
Taylor’s mom was hesitant about using the food shelf and really felt as though she was not an appropriate candidate to utilize its services. Carissa packed an emergency food shelf bag and offered it to Taylor’s mom at the conference. Tears of gratitude filled her eyes and Taylor’s face lit up as he rummaged through the bags of food.
During the conference, Carissa also addressed Taylor’s reading level: he was reading much lower than his grade level. Carissa showed Taylor and his mom a Family Learning Plan and offered to help them develop a plan to improve Taylor’s reading level. For a third grader, he was only reading at a first grade level. Taylor’s mom wanted to bridge the gap between home and school.
At one of the meetings to develop the Family Learning Plan, Taylor read to his mom and he took an Accelerated Reading test. His mom began to cry as Taylor’s face filled with joy! He received 100% on his test! She immediately recognized the role she needed to play in her son’s education.
Taylor has passed 28 Accelerated Reading tests from the books he read and surpassed the goal set by the school. His teacher reported that his recent MAP test scores showed that he is now right on track and reading at his grade level!
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Focus on job search
After being in a stable position as an Accounts Payable employee for 28 years, Sheila never thought she would find herself in a situation where she and her mother would be hungry. Sheila sobbed uncontrollably sitting in her car outside of our 360 Communities Center in Burnsville feeling humiliated and uncertain; afraid to step forward and ask for help.
Sheila decided she couldn’t let her mother go hungry anymore. For the first time in this tough economy, she has to ask for something as basic as food. Sheila has great work experiences and skills and she has every intention of finding employment, but now she needs to meet very basic needs—food.
Sheila was extremely grateful to 360 Communities who provided food, caring support and also resources to help her.
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Struggling families receive hope
A young man dressed in a polished shirt stood waiting to speak to someone in our 360 Communities Centers, and at one glance one would easily think he was here to make a donation. This young man said that he had just lost his job. He and his wife had moved in with his parents. After moving in with his parents, his father was also let go from the large corporation where he was employed.
They struggled for several months and they were unable to meet their basic needs—food. “I should have been here two months ago. I don’t know how to do this, and I have never asked for help before. Now I have to ask for food,” he said.
He thanked 360 Communities for the food and the support.
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Life-sustained success
A woman walked into our 360 Communities Centers asking for help. She looked distraught and scared. When she was greeted with respect, she opened up to tell her story.
She was struggling with her marriage for the last 10 years and her husband was emotionally abusive and deceptive. She asked for food for her family of seven. Two of her adult children ages 20 and 21 live with her and she also has a 10-year-old. Having been through a tough family life, she said her older children have used drugs, and one of her children has a child, with another on the way. The father of the children also lives with her. Though the adults in the house each have jobs, their incomes are not able to support all of them.
360 Communities provided her with subsidized housing resources, day care referral, food resources, and a referral to the Lewis House.
She was thankful to get food and other resources. She remarked she did not have the courage to ask for assistance and she never expected to receive the kind of help from 360 Communities. She was very appreciative.
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Children learn about a caring community
Every month Jane visits the food shelf with her three children to pick up food. She loves showing her children off to the volunteers. Her youngest is almost walking and the older children always help their mom with the food cart. They always leave 360 Communities with smiles and excitement. 360 Communities puts something special into the bags for all the three children and they can’t stop peeking into the bags to find out what are in them! It might be a favorite fruit snack or a book! Anna reminds her children to thank the volunteers and she always hugs them before she leaves 360 Communities.
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