Impact Stories

“There have been seasons where I won’t eat so that my kids can.” Kristy is a single mom with a fixed income living in Langford on Vancouver Island.

“When we moved to Canada, we used our savings,” Lauren explains. “We went through them quickly and as we scrambled to make ends meet we often had to skip meals.”

I was raised in a home that struggled. My mom was a single mother who struggled with alcohol addiction and at times became violent. I know firsthand what it’s like to go to school with nothing but a macaroni meat sandwich that no one wants or likes.

My passion for feeding hungry kids began when I was just a child.

We moved to the Lower Mainland when I was 12 years old and I ended up in foster care shortly thereafter. My mom struggled with mental illness and wasn’t able to take care of me the way she wanted. Ultimately, she passed away a few years later.

“I’m always counting down to payday,” Allice shares. “The week before payday, I usually run out of food. It’s so hard when Chris tells me that he’s so hungry and I have to explain to him that payday is coming soon.”

When we first met Jaimie-Lea and her three children, her husband, Joe, had just stopped working. He had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.

For years, TK has lived on the poverty line and has been on and off of welfare. As a single mom with two kids with significant, unique needs—her daughter has autism and her son is deaf—TK’s ability to work has been limited and her resources are always stretched to the max.