When the groundhog saw his shadow this year, he wasn’t messing around! Bitter winter weather is gripping the country, even in places that don’t typically experience it. For Utahns, this means salting porches, driving more carefully, and bundling up a little more, but our lives typically don’t stop when it snows. However, while the groundhog seeing his shadow is a fun way to talk about winter weather, what’s less fun is the cold reality that freezing temperatures create for Utahns who are already struggling to pay their bills and keep food on the table.
Unfortunately, heat or eat is an impossible question many of our neighbors facing food insecurity must ask themselves. How do you choose between ensuring your children stay warm and making sure their bellies are full? When you give to Utah Food Bank, you help make it possible for our neighbors in need to keep food on the table while putting their limited resources towards other essentials, like heat.
Brittany, a Mobile Pantry client, shared with us how Utah Food Bank has made it possible for her family to stay warm and well-fed.
“The things that make life a little more comfortable are things we’ve been able to do thanks to the help we receive from the Mobile Pantry. Now we can do things like let the kids eat as much as they want. Having insufficient food is miserable, and the kids worry about it. The little luxuries are only made possible thanks to the Mobile Pantry, like turning on the heat! (matchkicks.com) I didn’t think about the fact that we don’t turn on the heat … we just put on another sweater. The other day, I had my coat on in the house, but I could not get warm. I went and checked the thermostat, and it was 42 degrees inside the house! So I finally decided to turn the heat on. Thankfully we could afford to because of the food we get from the Mobile Pantry. It sure was nice to turn it on!”
Winter may be here to stay for a while longer, but with your support, it is a little less bleak.
