Your Support Lets Us Be There
We all know that life sometimes gives us a greater challenge than we’re ready for. Thanks to you, the Ottawa Food Bank is there as a safety net when people like Roger need a little extra help finding a path forward. Inside, learn more about Roger’s journey and how your support has helped him succeed.
For years, Roger worked hard and raised his young children. His family was happy and healthy. He didn’t even consider using a food bank. He didn’t need to.
He began to struggle the week he and his girlfriend both lost their jobs. He was a furniture mover, and as a recession set in, he wasn’t able to find new work. They used all of the money they’d saved to keep their rent paid and the lights on in their apartment. He didn’t know where their next meal was going to come from, until he remembered the food bank.
[blockquote]“I was so happy they were there,” he says. “I was just happy not to be hungry.”[/blockquote]
We all face life’s challenges with as much resiliency and strength as we can. It’s when those challenges get a little more difficult that, thanks to donors like you, the Ottawa Food Bank is there. Roger has returned to his community food bank occasionally since that first trip years ago. Once, he came back when the home he shared with his mother flooded and their emergency money went to repairing the mold damage left behind. Another time, he returned when his health required him to stop working and rely on government assistance..
The support he receives from the government today doesn’t always leave him with enough money for food after the costs of life’s other essentials. Right now, he’s trying to save up to buy a freezer to keep the food in his home fresh and a new bed to replace the weathered, dimpled mattress he’s sleeping on. “I’m always anticipating and planning ahead,” he says.
Roger knows as well as anyone that life doesn’t always go exactly as planned. And when he needs it, the Ottawa Food Bank is there. “It’s a safety net for me,” he says.
*Representative photo used. Not an image of the actual client.
