Category: STORIES OF HOPE

Jenae Bowen patiently waited in line outside the Epworth United Methodist Church in Valley City while holding her 11-month-old son, Erick. The line of cars filled the majority of the …

It was the first time 86-year-old Norma Voltz needed food assistance when she visited the Great Plains Food Bank Mobile Food Pantry when it stopped in Dodge. A close-knit family that includes her brothers, children, grand children and great grand children, they all experienced difficult times when Norma’s daughter suffered a serious accident. Assistance from the Mobile Food Pantry helped to provide food for two weeks at a much needed time.

Kasandra’s heart was heavy on her first visit to Ministry on the Margins in Bismarck, a partner agency of the Great Plains Food Bank, as she mourned the recent passing of the father of her seven-year-old daughter, Justice. Now maneuvering through life’s challenges as a single mother, she has relied on food assistance to help the young family get by. It’s difficult for her to imagine the situation they would be in without the help.

Dustin Erhart makes his $700 Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payment last as long as he is able, but typically comes up short most months attempting the feed himself and his 17-year-old son, Gage. The single father has found a needed resource at Ministry on the Margins in Bismarck, a partner agency of the Great Plains Food Bank.

Joddie Samelson (shown left) appreciates the assistance of her son Matt (shown right) when she visits the Kidder County Food Pantry in Steele each month. Following a stroke, Joddie no longer has use of her right arm so the extra help is needed. Living on a fixed income, the food she receives through this Great Plains Food Bank partner agency can last her three weeks and she doesn’t know what she would do if it wasn’t an option.

Through a number of different circumstances, neighbors Phyllis Bauer and Dennis Hickman have formed a bond. A part of that friendship includes traveling together to the Great Plains Food Bank Mobile Food Pantry when it stops in Milnor. The food they are able to receive there lasts each of them a month and has helped Phyllis fill a void after her husband passed away last year.

Stricken with rheumatoid arthritis and advanced age, Matt Stubstad’s mother needs his full-time attention. Without serving as her primary caregiver, the alternative is that she be placed in a nursing home, which Matt doesn’t have the heart to do. Seeking needed food assistance through the Dorothy Day Food Pantry in West Fargo, a partner agency of the Great Plains Food Bank, has allowed Matt to continue to be the primary caregiver for his mother.

Mckenzie is quick to admit she doesn’t try to be a single mom to her special needs son, Zachary, all by herself. She leans on those close to her, including the Emergency Food Pantry, a partner agency of the Great Plains Food Bank, for help. Zachary is severely autistic with medical conditions that can make life for the small family difficult. Read about all those that have come to the side of the small family to help them get by.

A United States Army veteran, times get tough for Thomas Rude and his wife. Each struggle with medical issues and the couple sees their fixed income fall short at the end of most months. They find the Great Plains Food Bank Mobile Food Pantry provides a boost each time it stops in Rugby.

There are times when there is not enough food in the house to feed LoShay’s family of six. Both her parents work hard, but still struggle to put enough food on the table. A backpack LoShay receives each week from the Great Plains Food Bank helps supplement those times when food is scarce.