When I was seven years old, I remember my mom driving my family to the foodbank in Sandpoint, Idaho. We were very poor and my mom is a woman who doesn’t like to ask for help.
All five of us kids waited in the back of the truck as my mom went in through the big glass door that opened into the foodbank. She came out with a cardboard box brimming with food.
When we got back to our deep-woods house, my mom took that food and combined it with the sparse basic ingredients we had. She made an amazingly tasty meal and fed a family of six with the help of those donations.
That is why I donated. It is my way of saying thank you and helping someone in need.
— James Mancuso (donated $20 and a box of prison commissary food items with recipe instructions)
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I feel incredibly blessed to have been born and raised in Boise.
But back when covid struck, I was battling the demons of addiction while working as a contractor. I remember the world shutting down, the weather creeping in, and the food in my family’s cabinets rapidly dwindling until I was desperate to feed my wife and child.
My wife and I sat down together and searched for community resources.
I remember feeling defeated, hungry and desperate while walking into the food pantry with my wife, and how quickly those feelings turned when we were welcomed with huge warm smiles.
One woman took us aisle by aisle to help us load a basket. When she found out that we had a bunny, she threw in extra, fresh vegetables to feed it.
She then walked us out to parking lot and helped us load the vehicle that once spoke to my success.
Not once did she pass judgement.
It was nothing short of a life-changing experience
— Jeff Lacy (donated $20 from his monthly kitchen pay — equivalent to 50 hours of work)
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1) I’ve relied on the charity of food pantries several times over the years.
2) It always makes me feel good to buy a meal for someone else.
— Patrick Irving (donated $20 and is encouraging you to do the same)
Visit Idahofoodbank.org to instill a stranger with a valuable memory.