This year Feeding San Diego worked with 50 different schools organizing pantry food distributions around San Diego County.
“It’s very expensive I go shopping and within a blink of an eye the food is gone. And then they look at me and say I’m hungry. What am I going to eat?” says Michella Crabtree. As a mom to five kids ranging from 2 to 17 years old, she’s constantly trying to keep up with her family.
She adds, “I learned how to manage providing for my family so it’s not as hard .. but it can get rough at times.”
That’s why she’s thankful her family’s school Feaster Charter School in Chula Vista hosts food pantry distributions with the help of Feeding San Diego.
With kids out for winter break, she has to find ways to feed them, going without the free breakfast and reduced lunches the school provides.
Heather Galyon with Feaster Charter School says, “If you show up to school hungry you aren’t thinking about anything else. That’s a basic need for our kids. It’s food and shelter. “
Galyon says their school community is unique, as 70 of their families are unsheltered, with many also falling in a socioeconomic disadvantage.
That’s why they’re constantly working to meet their needs.
Crabtree says this help also comes at the right time, as she’s still trying to find ways to pay for Christmas gifts. And she’s appreciative she’s getting help to make this a special holiday for her kids.
She adds you have to “make sure you have enough money to survive for the break, and to have money to do their Christmas shopping. It’s hard because you want to make sure they get what they can.”
