Married for 25 years, Ann Marie faced difficulty during the last five years of her marriage as diabetes and depression slowly affected her and her husband’s physical and mental health. As many neighbors fighting diabetes experience challenges, Ann Marie’s family was impacted after her husband lost both of his legs to diabetes. Depression began to take its toll on her husband after the loss of his first leg, and after the loss of his second she noticed his depression increase.

And now that he’s passed away, she is the dominant pillar of strength for her family. Now, Ann Marie is a single mom of four – Daniel (29), Sabrina (25), Brook (12), and Noah (10).

“My soul lives and breathes for my kids. I will do anything to support them. My daily concern is to make money and feed them,” Ann Marie says.

For Ann Marie, doing what it takes is engrained. Juggling multiple side jobs – mowing lawns, painting, donating plasma – if there is an opportunity to provide for her family, she will. The pandemic has made all of us pivot. For Ann Marie, donating plasma every 28 days, and platelets every seven days, has become etched in her schedule to make ends meet.

Living close to the San Antonio Food Bank allowed Ann Marie to witness food distributions for the first time. Viewing the Food Bank as a community resource, and self-identifying the need for her family, she decided to call and learn about how her family could get signed up to receive food assistance.

“I didn’t know you were on my side this whole time – I had no clue all these services were available for my family!” Ann Marie proclaimed.

Receiving support from the Food Bank has enabled her family to make important decisions, without food insecurity looming overhead. Ann Marie’s youngest child, Noah, was just accepted to Campos Rose school – a public school that focuses on robotics, engineering, entrepreneurship, and computer science.

Ann Marie explains, “This is the first good fortune our family has had in a while. With this and the Food Bank being a source we can lean on, I am truly grateful. You have taken us all out of a dark time.”

Through the Food Bank’s programs and resources, Ann Marie’s family is receiving the nourishment they need to flourish.

GET HELP – To learn more about receiving food assistance, signing up for benefits, or job assistance programs, visit safoodbank.org/help.

Thanks to community generosity, our resources and programs can transform lives.