“Do y’all help with food?”

This question is one of the most common that we receive, often through shaky voices and teary eyes. Unfortunately, given recent statistics for Lubbock’s food insecure, it’s not a surprise to us the number of phone calls and concerns we receive regarding food assistance. Through these phone conversations, we have seen a drastic increase in the number of families being served by our food pantry each month and people gathering around the tables each week for our hot, Community Meal.

One participant, Esparanza*, came by the food pantry a few months ago with her two kids. Our volunteers guided her around, showing her what was available for her to select and immediately she began to tear up. After sharing about her recent cut back of hours at her job, mixed with juggling care for her two young children and the bills piling up, she told the volunteer, “I didn’t know how I was going to feed my family this week.”

More frequently over the last year, we see similar people in heartbreaking situations coming through our doors. As we strive in our mission to provide hope, empowerment and healing to families like Esparanza’s, we find ourselves increasingly grateful for initiatives like the Albertsons Companies Foundation’s Feed the Love campaign. In early June, United Supermarkets and Kellanova joined forces to donate $20,000 to Lubbock Impact to support the various ways we provide food assistance to the community. As they see the need for aid in food insecurity and provide their generous financial support, we are then able to focus on our efforts on caring for the people we serve in a practical way.

No one should go hungry.