Real People Real Stories: Hunger in America

Real People, Real Stories

Stories from Volunteers

There are many individuals all across the United States who are committed to helping solve child hunger
in America. Here are just a few of the stories from people who have made a difference.

Louis

Food Bank Volunteer Always Ready to Help

For the past five years, Louis has volunteered at Feeding America® of Kentucky's Heartland. Each week, he helps the food bank sort and repackage donated product, load and unload trucks, and label canned food. Louis's years as a truck driver enable him to contribute in different ways than most volunteers at the food bank.

Read Louis's Story

Food Bank Volunteer Always Ready to Help

"I felt there was a need, and I had the time to help," said Louis, a retired truck driver.

For the past five years, Louis has volunteered at Feeding America of Kentucky's Heartland, the member of the Feeding America network in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. Each week, he helps the food bank sort and repackage donated product, load and unload trucks, and label canned food. Louis's years as a truck driver enable him to contribute in different ways than most volunteers at the food bank.

Louis continues to make use of his commercial driving license (CDL) and driving experience to serve as the food bank's relief driver. After Hurricane Katrina, Louis drove to the devastated area on behalf of the food bank to deliver loads of donated food to satellite locations that fed those displaced from their homes. Because of his efforts, Feeding America officially recognized him as a disaster-relief volunteer.

"The more I've been involved, the more I have realized there are many people in need," said Louis.

Additionally, he volunteered his time to help with the Feeding America national study Hunger in America 2006, a comprehensive profile of the incidence and nature of hunger and food insecurity in the United States. Louis helped the food bank conduct nearly 100 interviews with people receiving food assistance from their local food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters.

On days when he is not busy, he calls the food bank to see if his help is needed. Most people would look at a day off as time to relax, but not Louis. He is always focused on helping others in any way possible.

"Louis is the epitome of what a volunteer is all about," said Milissa French, Volunteer Program Coordinator at Feeding America of Kentucky's Heartland. "He is humble, hardworking, and believes he is here to help others."

Read Louis's Story

Linette

Linette True is a chef and volunteer culinary instructor with Share Our Strength's Operation Frontline® in Portland, Oregon.

"When I see the pride of accomplishment on an Operation Frontline student's face at dicing an onion or making pizza dough or preparing a dish for the potluck, it uplifts my spirit, and there is just nothing better than that," she says.

Len

Retiree Just Wants to Give Back

After losing his job just before retirement, Len learned the hard way that life's always a challenge. Forced to file for early retirement, he found himself in need of assistance. Now he's a food bank recipient and volunteer, volunteering twice a week at the Feeding America main office in Chicago.

Read Len's Story

Retiree Just Wants to Give Back

Len didn't expect to be starting over at age 61. With only a few years left before reaching retirement age, he was looking forward to his golden years. Then Len lost his job. He soon found that the job market wasn't too inviting for a man his age, despite his years of accounting experience. Eventually, Len was forced to file for early retirement.

"It was either file or starve," he said. But filing for retirement early came with a hefty penalty for Len, and he lost about $400 a month in social security.

Now Len lives in subsidized housing for senior citizens in Chicago and finds himself coming up short with what he needs to pay bills and buy groceries. Luckily, he is able to get help once a month through Catholic Charities USA®, which is served by the Greater Chicago Food Depository, a member of the Feeding America network.

"The food bank helps immensely," he said. "I get a huge variety of foods—even fresh fruits and vegetables, depending on the season. It's wonderful to have somewhere like this to help people in need."

Len's gratitude for the help he receives drives him to give in return. So now, twice a week, Len can be found volunteering at the Feeding America national office in Chicago.

"I just want to give back," Len said. "I feel blessed by what I've been getting through these programs, and I think you should give back when you can."

Through his volunteer services and by using the food bank himself, Len has been able to see both sides of the network. "A lot of people don't understand you can be in any bracket and in any past career and find yourself in need," he said. "It's not just poor people, but also the elderly, people who lose their jobs and source of income. Anybody and everybody could find themselves in the same situation I did."

Read Len's Story

Quince

Quince Grounds is a volunteer Nutrition Educator with Share Our Strength's Operation Frontline in Dallas, Texas. In her work, she finds it rewarding to see people graduate from the Operation Frontline program. "[They] feel empowered to make a change in their life that is positive. They leave with the knowledge to live a healthier life and they pass it on to their children."

Stephanie, Josh and Children

Family of Four Makes Commitment to Help Solve Hunger in America

More than five years ago, Stephanie and her husband, Josh, began donating to Feeding America—The Nation's Food Bank network after learning about the organization's hunger-relief efforts through mailings. After reading one of the mailings, Stephanie was stunned by what she learned and was motivated to help.

Hunger by the Numbers

One in five children is struggling with hunger in America. In some U.S. counties though, that number is as high as one in two Feeding America's Map the Meal Gap illustrates the reality of hunger in communities nationwide.

Learn about child hunger >

No Kid Hungry

We believe no child in America should go hungry. Take the No Kid Hungry Pledge today and add your voice to the community of people passionate about ending childhood hunger in America.

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Apply for a Grant

Want to apply for a grant from the ConAgra Foods Foundation? Learn about the application process and the criteria the ConAgra Foods Foundation uses to evaluate grant applications here.

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