“I didn’t plan for this, and I certainly wasn’t prepared for it.”
“I made a phone call to someone who was interested in applying for SNAP and learned that I called at just the right time. The man who picked up began to tell me about the hardships he was going through. He described how as an older adult he had been challenged by life in many ways. He told me about how he lost his wife to cancer 8 years ago and how his adult son recently had a head injury that resulted in damage to his brain. His son had to move back in with him, and they were struggling to make ends meet. He described how SNAP would be so helpful for his family to have greater stability and would grant him relief from the burden of not knowing how he would afford his groceries. He told me, ‘I didn’t plan for this, and I certainly wasn’t prepared for it.’ He was grateful that he would be able to easily apply for SNAP with Gleaners’ assistance.
I think the last piece of this story outlines how anyone could find themselves in need of SNAP benefits as life has different plans for us than what we expect. It certainly showed me the power in our work.” – Brianna Henderson, SNAP Outreach Specialist