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“I never imagined this would happen to me”
Katie didn’t choose a life of hunger and heartache, but sometimes hard times happen.
The stress of food insecurity is a day-to-day battle for Katie. Katie often goes without, so she can feed her kids. It shouldn’t have to be this way. But Katie says that as a single mum with the rising cost of living, this is just what you have to do.
I know you will agree with me that this should not be happening in our lucky country.
Will you help us feed a struggling family like Katie’s this Winter?
When Katie looked in her pantry this morning, a tight knot formed in her stomach. She could count the items on one hand.
A box of home brand cereal. One tin of baked beans. A packet of pasta. One loaf of bread. In the fridge, there’s a block of cheese. This is how she hopes to feed her family for an entire week.
Please send a gift by June 30 because no South Australian family should go without food this winter.
Dear Friend,
Katie didn’t choose this life – a life of hunger and heartache. No one would choose this life. But as Katie says, hard times happen.
This is not the life she imagined. Katie never dreamt she would be a single mother of three children all struggling with medical conditions.
“All of my kids are diagnosed with varying and serious health issues, so, trying to balance work with medical appointments has been impossible.”
But with sacrifice came struggle.
Living on an almost full-time salary and budgeting carefully, Katie was managing ok. But just a year ago, she had no choice but to reduce her working hours as a disability worker to support her children. Katie and her three children have not been able to get their heads above water since then.
“I love my job but I had to drastically drop back my work hours so I can take my kids to appointments. Unfortunately, the bills associated with the medical appointments and the rising cost of living versus my income just doesn’t balance out right now.”
With your support, Foodbank can ease Katie’s stress, making vital food relief available through our Food Hubs, which offer a dignified shopping experience.
The stress of food insecurity is a day-to-day battle for Katie. It’s been part of her life ever since she was forced to reduce her work hours.
Katie is not alone. Despite Australia’s reputation as the ‘lucky country’, hunger is a reality for many
Australians.
“I never imagined it would happen to me. I was previously married and worked full-time for the local government. Now I’m a single Mum living pay to pay, struggling to keep up with bills, work, children’s expenses and scrambling for coins to be able to buy bread and milk before payday.”
Katie often goes without, so she can feed her kids. It shouldn’t have to be this way. But Katie says that as a mum, this is just what you do.
“My kids always come first. You make those sacrifices, you go without, so they have what they need. I’d rather they have a proper meal, and I will just have toast.”
Last week, Katie was at the shops the day before getting paid. Her daughter was wanting something in the supermarket, and she wasn’t able to get it for her.
“All I had was $6 in coins to my name. I had to tell my daughter that we could only afford the bread that we came in for. And in one of the hardest moments of being a parent she turned to me and said: ‘I’m so sick of being poor mum’. It was heartbreaking. Absolutely heartbreaking.”
I know you will agree with me that this should not be happening in our lucky country.
Katie never wanted to ask for help – “I’ve always struggled with getting help and asking for help, but I am so grateful for the assistance I receive through Foodbank.”
Foodbank is committed to supporting these families, through programs such as our Food Hubs, School Programs and Hamper Programs.
Foodbank provides over 135,000 meals every month for those in need in South Australia. This cannot
continue without your help.
I am urgently asking for your urgent gift today to support families like Katie’s. Your gift of $46, $156 or a very generous gift of $324 can help more families who are struggling.
Every week, Katie has to choose between paying her bills and buying food. With winter approaching fast, she’s already worried about how to keep up with the rising cost of living.
“The bills just have to come first, so the food budget is the first thing to take the cut. With bills rising especially in Winter it makes things really really hard.”
Accessing food from Foodbank means Katie is able to have food for her family during this hard time.
“When I’ve had a really bad week of bills or where I’ve had to take time off with sick kids or appointments – it’s just really helped. It really takes that pressure off and eases a lot of stress knowing that you can access food and feed your children and because of this we’re hanging in there.”
Your support is so important to people like Katie. Will you please make a generous gift to Foodbank to make sure we can provide more food to families in need?
Katie takes enormous comfort knowing that support is out there – that people like you really care.
“From the bottom of my heart, I thank you. Foodbank is helping me step up. And then when I am no longer needing the services, I’ll be supporting the services because of how much they’ve helped me.”
Foodbank wants to provide more food to struggling families this winter. But we cannot do this without you.
Please send your gift before June 30. Your gift today will be life changing.