Have you ever needed help providing food for your family? Have you received food from a food pantry? Have you ever used food stamps?
If you answered yes to any of these questions – even if your experience was years ago – we’d love to hear from you. We use these firsthand accounts to help educate the world about hunger in the St. Louis area. Hearing a personal story from a real individual who has struggled to put food on the table can be eye-opening for those who have never experienced it.
These stories help us spread hunger awareness, and encourage donors large and small to keep giving. In addition, your story can help erase the stereotypes that people associate with food pantries and food stamps. Please help us show the world that the folks in the pantry line are real, hard-working people who are doing their best to provide for their families.
It’s easy to share a thought, comment or personal story – your story is a powerful tool in fighting hunger and its root causes.
If you’re not sure what to write about, you could tell us a story about your experience with any of the following issues:
- Accessing emergency food
- Losing your job in this tough economy
- Having trouble making ends meet
- Working for wages that don’t support your family
- Difficulty with medical bills
- Difficulty affording rent
- Being homeless
- Being hurt by predatory banking, lending or business practices
- How you’ve benefited from community food systems like farm-to-school and community garden programs
- Difficulty accessing food or services where you live
- Living with a disability and waiting for SSI or SSDI benefits
- Challenges you’ve encountered as an Oregon or Clark County farmer
- A time when cash assistance helped you get back on your feet
- How you’ve benefited from SNAP (food stamps), child nutrition programs (WIC, school breakfast and lunch, summer food, etc.) or WIC/senior farmers market coupons
- A memorable experience you had as an St. Louis Area Foodbank advocate or volunteer
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We do not have to use your full name if we share the story, but we do need to verify the stories. For this purpose, please include in your email or message the following information: full name, city of residence, email or phone number, and name of pantry you used if applicable.
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For more information please contact Maddie Smith, Communications Coordinator, at 314-227-3728 or msmith@stlfoodbank.org
