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Mom of Three Facing Soaring Inflation Receives Help from the Food Bank

On a sunny spring morning, Raven drives up to receive food assistance from the Food Bank’s drive-thru Super Pantry Program food distribution that is open throughout the week for families and individuals in need of food assistance.

Raven, mom of three, drives up to receive food assistance from the Food Bank’s drive-thru Super Pantry Program.

“The price of gas has gone up, the cost of living has gone up, food has gone up, everything has gone up, but income hasn’t gone up for really anybody. And so that’s been making it difficult to make ends meet,” explains Raven.”I am a single mom. I have three babies. They are all under the age of ten. My daughter Mia is nine years old. My son Jackson is seven years old, and my daughter Raya is my youngest. She is four years old. The San Diego Food Bank has definitely helped me and my babies by being able to provide the food that we need so I can have money to pay for rent and gas for school.””All three of my babies, when they are together, they shine so much. Everywhere we go, they shine. People comment on how happy they are. I do my best to provide for them, and so does their father. We are separated, but we do our best. I appreciate the San Diego Food Bank for providing help so that we can get by. We are both working hard to do our best to provide for them,” she continues.

A volunteer places food in the back of Raven’s car at the Food Bank’s drive-thru food distribution.

“I work full time as a yoga instructor for children and adults, and right now I don’t make a lot of money. So, the San Diego Food Bank has helped me provide for my family. The Food Bank provides a lot of fruits and vegetables and covers all of the healthy food groups for everybody, which I appreciate. And especially for my lifestyle, teaching yoga, that’s important to me and it’s important to eat healthy. I appreciate the access to the fresh fruits and vegetables that the Food Bank provides. My babies need the extra nutrition, and the milk that the Food Bank gives is very important for their nutrition and development.””My babies get really excited when we make the foods from the Food Bank, like when we made cabbage from the Food Bank. I showed them how to peel the cabbage and make a cabbage soup.””The one thing that I really appreciate so much is the fresh fruits and vegetables that we get from the Food Bank. The fresh fruits and vegetables in the stores are getting more and more expensive. I appreciate the fresh fruits that we get from the Food Bank like strawberries, pears, and tangerines. I love them so much, especially the tangerines. My babies really enjoyed eating the tangerines.”At the food distribution, Raven receives a bag of eggplants, a bag of potatoes, a bag of apples, a loaf of bread, canned fruits, canned meats, a box of cereal, a gallon of milk, a jar of peanut butter, canned tuna, canned fruits, canned vegetables, canned tomatoes, canned beans, and canned tomato sauce.For more information about the Food Bank’s range of hunger-relief programs, visit SanDiegoFoodBank.org/Programs. For information about volunteering at our warehouse or our drive-thru food distribution, visit SanDiegoFoodBank.org/Volunteer.