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Watching as her two kids eagerly help to prepare and cook dinner, Jillian smiles. The single parent reflects on her own upbringing as the trio works together to make that night’s meal: Rice-a-Roni, salad, roasted broccoli, and chicken. “I remember growing up, knowing that my family was struggling,” recalled Jillian. “I remember knowing that we were poor and knowing that we didn’t always have food. When I became a mom, I just told myself I’m not going to do that to my kids. What a rude awakening.” Jillian is one of hundreds of thousands of parents across Food Bank of the Rockies’ service area who worries about having enough food for her family. Despite her hard work and intense love for her kids, making ends meet just isn’t possible all the time. That’s when she turns to the Food Bank for support. Kendra is also a single parent of two children. After her 8-year-old’s father passed away a few years ago, things were especially difficult for Kendra as she strove to do whatever it took to ensure her kids had enough to eat. “Sometimes you feel like you’re not doing enough in that moment. Especially when your kids are like, ‘I’m hungry, what’s there to eat?’ Those moments are really tough,” she shared. Last fiscal year, Food Bank of the Rockies supported 383,079 people, including 80,791 kids, with the nourishing food we all need to thrive. Families like Jillian’s and Kendra’s found encouragement through programs like Totes of Hope®, which provides bags of food to children to take home with them over the weekend when school is out of session, and Hunger Relief Partners like Denver Green School, which operates a food pantry. Fresh produce, shelf-stable staple items, protein, kid-friendly snacks: all of these and more are available through the Food Bank’s programs and partners, offering a lifeline to caregivers when life gets tough. We had the opportunity to join Kendra, Jillian, and their kids in their homes recently. They graciously opened up to us about their struggles and wins, worries and successes. Get to know them and learn more about how Food Bank of the Rockies is able to support families like theirs thanks to generous donors like you in the short film linked below.
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