Closing the Hunger Gap — Janae’s Story

In the waning sunlight of a cold Denver afternoon, Janae, a single mom, is doing what she does every day: making time for family. “I love sitting at the table and eating with my kids,” says Janae. “It’s our time to bond, and I get to hear about their day. Dinner is our time.”

Janae’s life might seem like anyone else’s: She has a job and takes classes to be a nursing assistant. She strives to be a role model for her children. “For my children to grow up successfully, they need to see me succeed in the goals I’ve set for us,” she says.

But that’s where the similarity ends, because like many other families facing hunger and hardship, Janae struggles —despite working so hard— to afford the basic food and essentials every family needs.

Her job pays minimum wage, and when she works more her SNAP benefits get cut. The additional pay from her extra hours doesn’t come close to making up for the lost benefits. For Janae, no matter how much harder she works to better herself and her children, that disheartening gap never seems to close.

“I don’t make enough, but I make too much,” she says. “It’s frustrating.”

When asked if she’s ever had to choose between buying food and paying other bills, her response is immediate. “All the time,” she says. “All the time. But I’ll put off bills if we don’t have food. My children having something to eat, that’s my priority. They come before anything.”

Janae, like every parent, wants to support her children’s development and dreams and give them the opportunity not just to survive, but to thrive. The food and essentials she receives from Feed the Children make the difference between providing that opportunity and wondering how she’s going to make ends meet.

“If I didn’t have that, honestly, I don’t know what I would do,” she says.

As a busy, single, working mother, Janae’s most precious commodity is time. The nutritious and easy-to-prepare food she gets from Feed the Children allows her to provide hot meals she otherwise wouldn’t have time to cook.

“The meal kits are great,” she says. “Anything I can use to make a quick meal—that’s my goal. I don’t ever want them to go to bed hungry.”

But it’s not just the food that’s so vital to her family. It’s the sense of confidence and dignity that items like soap, toothpaste, laundry detergent, and other essentials give her kids when they go off to school.

“It’s so important for them to go to school with full stomachs and clean clothes on their backs. They want to feel good too, as little human beings,” says Janae. “That’s the only way they can learn, be happy, and succeed in school, and I’m so grateful for that.”

Janae sees the help she gets from Feed the Children not as a handout, but something more fundamental to humanity: people helping people.

“It’s okay to ask for help. Nobody’s perfect,” she says. “Everybody needs a helping hand. I try to encourage people that feel embarrassed—to let them know that we got this. If I can help you, I’ll help you. If you can help me, help me.”