Shirley’s Story

Shirley is a 70 something widow who spent the first 50 years of her life raising their three children in a normal middle class family. When her husband, an Army veteran and union carpenter, got sick after retirement, it took all of their savings to help treat him. When he inevitably died after a long illness, Shirley was alone for the first time in her life. And if that wasn’t bad enough, she also found out that her Social Security was cut in half as a result of his death.

            Their home was paid for and Shirley tries to keep it maintained within her physical limitations. She also struggles to keep up with her property taxes that keep going up faster than her retirement income. She takes five different medications daily for various ailments and has had two knee replacements. When fuel oil went above $4 per gallon last spring she knew there was no way she was going to be able to make ends meet over the winter. She humbled herself and went to her municipal office for to see if there was any help available to her.

            It was only then that she found out she was eligible for a property tax freeze, and prescription assistance through the state sponsored PAAD program as a senior citizen; something she wishes she had known 10 years ago! She also found out that there was an emergency food pantry located not far from her home where she could get groceries once a month for free.

            On her first visit to the Community Assistance Pantry located at the Community FoodBank of NJ, Shirley was impressed by how kindly she was treated. She was also pleasantly surprised that she got enough food to feed herself, and her dog, for at least a week.

            Since September of 2008, Shirley has been not only a monthly client of the food pantry, but also a volunteer. She can be found every Tuesday and Friday in the fresh bread room straightening out and restocking the bread and pastries. During this time she has also been very surprised to see how many of her friends and neighbors also utilize the FoodBank’s services to help stretch their limited incomes.

Shirley feels blessed to be able to give back for all that she feels she has been given, which she was never even aware of existed.