Our Impact

Debra Way had a life she was proud of. Working as a general manager at a restaurant, her future husband and her were planning the rest of their lives together when tough times struck. She quickly found herself in need of help in the midst of a battle with chronic depression and suicide. Food assistance has provided her a means to get by.

A widowed 81-year-old grandmother and great grandmother, Rose Kurst paints a picture that is all too common for many North Dakota seniors. With a monthly Social Security check as her main source of income, she is often forced to make difficult choices between paying for food and paying for other necessities. Her local food pantry helps her in difficult times.

Kristine Christensen says her two adopted grandsons would eat around the clock if she would let them. The 53-year-old has been on disability since 2004 and is constantly running out of food items for the household. Without the assistance from her local food pantry, she states simply, "we would be hungry."

Medical issues currently prevent William Andrews, commonly known as "Willy," from working. Money became tight for his family of four when he suffered a stroke. He found food assistance through the Great Plains Food Bank partner agency network that has helped to fill a critical void.

When John Fjestad Byklum hears the sterotype that receiving food assistance is just, as he puts it, a "free hand out," he is quick to explain how much it helps his family of five. "It helps us to survive," he responds. Through his local food pantry and the Great Plains Food Bank BackPack Program, John is able to come up with enough food to feed his family.

Kari Thomas is sometimes able to go a few months between visits to her local food pantry, but other months their cupboards get bare and are in need of help. When the months come when the cupboards become bare, Kari has found useful food assistance from a pair of Great Plains Food Bank programs and services - a partner food pantry and BackPack Program.

Marsha Bachman arrived at a Great Plains Food Bank Pop-up Perishable Food Program distribution with a $20 bill. What food she wasn't able to collect at the distribution the $20 would need to cover when she went to the grocery story later. The food program allowed Marsha to make her grocery money stretch farther.

Xavier Harvey was living in South Carolina when he was the victim of gun violence and needed to relocate. He came to Fargo where he settled down with a wife and three children. With a full household, the family struggles from time to time to come up with enough food. The Emergency Food Pantry, a partner agency of the Great Plains Food Bank, has provided a supplement when the family falls short.

Noella Thomas' grandmother passed down to her the tradition of hosting a large family dinner each Sunday night. It's important to her she continue the tradition, but there are months when it takes a toll on the family's food supply. Noella has found benefits from a Great Plains Food Bank partner agency to fill the void and allow her to continue a tradition.

Julie Herbel works as a librarian at the New Town Public Library. She noticed many children were coming in hungry after school each day and wished to do something about it. But she struggled to find the healthy food options she desired. The Great Plains Food Bank Pop-up Perishable Food Program has provided those resources and has helped fill a critical need for hungry children in New Town.

Life hasn't always been as steady as it is right now for Barbara Villella and due to a series of unfortunate events in her past, she knows that she is always one paycheck away from needing food assistance again. She now spends a lot of her time at the Prairie Roots Food Co-op advocating for healthy food options for those in need.

Amanda Jackson knows the feeling of being homeless all too well. That feeling is compounded when attempting to offer a life of opportunity for her nine-year-old daughter, who struggles with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). But despite struggles that would break a lot of families, Amanda and her daughter, Kylen, remain positive saying simply, "what else can you do?"

Each weekday you can find Arge Laddusaw volunteering at the Emergency Food Pantry in Fargo, a partner agency of the Great Plains Food Bank. Forced into retirement due to health reasons and with a Social Security and SNAP payment that only takes him so far, Arge also visits the Emergency Food Pantry to receive needed food assistance. Spending time volunteering is his way of giving back.

Donna Ricker has been the primary caregiver for her daughter, Jodahna, who is stricken with spastic cerebral palsy, for nearly four decades. For assistance through years of difficult times, the two have utilized the Great Plains Food Bank partner agency network for help. And they remained thankful for all that they have to this day.

Ashley Brager does everything she can to help her 5-year-old son with autism not cry out over hunger. There is no worse sound in the world as far as Ashley is concerned. While struggling with mental health issues herself, when times are difficult she finds needed resources within a pair of Great Plains Food Bank partner food pantries to help the young family get by.

Due to difficult circumstances, Stephanie Ballou cares for three of her grandchildren and they are quick to understand that, "grandma doesn't have enough money right now." Thanks to her nearest Great Plains Food Bank partner food pantry, she is able to provide healthy food options for her grand kids.

Midway Public School serves a number of rural communities in east-central North Dakota. Many of its students and their families need to travel more than 20 miles to visit a grocery store. The addition of a school pantry has helped Midway fill a need for many of its students.

Financially, Tayla Henry was comfortable and able to provide for her two young kids. But that all changed the day her children's father moved out and the now single mom struggled with food insecurity. She soon found a supplement for the loss of meals at the Emergency Food Pantry in Fargo, a partner agency of the Great Plains Food Bank.

Gardening has been a part of Harka Maya Monger's life since birth in the country of Buhtan. Now the low-income family of five lives in Fargo where Harka's local community garden has allowed her to continue gardening. This along with assistance from a Great Plains Food Bank partner food pantry allows the family the nutrition they need.

Previously homeless, Murphy has learned the importance of balancing her finances on a limited income. And even with being frugal with her budget, she still falls short at the end of some months. Food assistance through the Great Plains Food Bank partner agency network has helped her stretch her income as far as she can.

A father of four, Patrick Schmid and his wife were financially stable until the demand of too many years spent in physical labor took its toll on Patrick. Following two shattered hips and other physical ailments, Patrick became unable to work and began collecting disability payments, but the loss of income became too great. The family sought emergency food assistance while Patrick also went the extra mile in helping others.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A single mother of six, Tammie Nadeau has found herself in a position with significant credit card debt without a sustainable food source. The help of SNAP allows her to supply healthy food for her family.

A U.S. Army veteran, Willard Carpenter and his wife, Linda, rely greatly on the SNAP benefits they receive. Willard lost his right arm during a factory accident more than 45 years ago, but has not slowed down his farming operation.

Leslie Tibbetts lives in Grand Forks with her husband, Anton, and their two young children. When Anton lost his job this year, SNAP benefits provided a supplement to still keep the family fed.

Working part-time and living in a studio apartment that was once a hotel, 26-year-old Chelsey Lang does the best that she can to support her and her young son, Emryx.

Unable to pay her rent, Jodi Smith found herself homeless and with few places to turn. A 61-year-old grandmother, Smith spent time living in her vehicle and stretched her SNAP benefits as far as they would go.

Larry Hanson, 59, suffers from epilepsy and relies on SNAP benefits to stretch his disability payments further. "When you have nothing, SNAP benefits really do help," he says.

Formerly homeless and a logger for 27 years in the Pacific Northwest, Dennis Peck suffers from a number of medical issues that makes finding work difficult to come by. SNAP benefits help to relieve that burden and for him to eat healthy.

Now the president at the Great Plains Food Bank, Melissa Sobolik received SNAP benefits during her time spent in college and each day helps fight the stigma often associated with receiving benefits.

Now program director with the Great Plains Food Bank, SNAP benefits allowed Nancy Carriveau and her young family to stretch what they had as far as it could go.

A single mother of two kids, there are times when Kim Speidel and her family are eating ramen noodles by the end of the month as it's all that remain. SNAP benefits provide an invaluable resource for them.

Shirley Reese remembers the difficult times she and her family faced when they struggled expecting their sixth child and how vital their SNAP benefits became. Now the manager of a grocery store in Hazelton, Reese understands the difficult situation facing many of her customers on SNAP.

A 20-year retiree from the North Dakota Army National Guard, Steve Olson struggles to recall a time in his childhood when his family didn't receive SNAP benefits. As he put it, they offered a hand-up, and allowed him a path to now owning his own consulting company.

Ricky Belgarde knows what is feels like to skip meals. Having spent the majority of his life on SNAP, the program has helped his family to survive growing up. Today, as disability prevents Ricky from working and driving, SNAP remains critically important for Ricky.

Mary Rader is on her own following the death of her husband and now that her six children are grown. A Social Security check each month helps to pay some of her bills, but Mary counts on benefits from the SNAP program to supplement her grocery bill each month. If it weren't for SNAP, Mary is uncertain what she would do.

A U.S. Army veteran, 57-year-old Roberta Milford relies on SNAP benefits along with veteran disability assistance to sustain her way of life. Her grocery budget is just $60 and the $11 she receives each month through the SNAP program allows her two gallons of milk and a loaf of bread. Despite the benefits and being on a fixed income, she still struggles to make it to the end of each month.

Living on a fixed income consisting mostly of disability payments, Rexanne Block has needed to get creative to find ways of meeting her nutritional needs each month. And a crucially important piece to that puzzle is the SNAP benefits that she receives each month.

Jode and Roger Beuchene were living comfortably and enjoying their marriage. Then COVID-19 struck the region and they were "tossed like a salad," Jodee said. Losing the majority of income from her karaoke business, the couple quickly began to struggle to put food on the table. See how a Great Plains Food Bank distribution of the Farmers to Families Food Box Program quickly made a difference in their lives.

Kristyna Feyh is soon expecting the birth of her first child and will then soon become a single mother. With limited support, many would be nervous about there being enough food available in the home. But thanks to WIC benefits and assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Kristyna knows there will enough food available for her and her baby.

With underlying health conditions, Malka Fazlic is at high-risk should she be exposed to COVID-19. When she needs to visit the grocery store, she arrives prepared and limits her visits to 15 minutes at a time. She is unable to work due to the pandemic and benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) help her get by turning difficult times.

Sonny has a list of medical conditions few people would envy. Her disabilities allow her $45 a month in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. But despite the benefits and visiting local food pantries, she finds it difficult to pay all her bills at the end of each month and lives in constant fear that one day her electricity will be shut off. A little additional help through SNAP would make a big difference.

Tammy Benjamin has spent the majority of her life purchasing groceries on a tight budget and today, now with 10 grandchildren, is no different. Unable to work, she receives disability payments and benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). On a fixed income, the SNAP program allows her the means to make it to the end of each month.

Dawn has dietary restrictions that make it difficult to purchase what she needs while living on a fixed income. Even while receiving benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), she struggles to fill her nutritional needs. Read here about all that she needs to do to live as healthy of a life as she can.

Dianne summarizes the difference benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) make in her life very simply: "Without SNAP, I wouldn't be able to eat," she says. With medical issues, she has also moved in with her mother in an effort to save expenses in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read her full story here.

A longtime school teacher, Loree has experienced the toll felt by many struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With prices for useful grocery store items much higher than they were a year ago, she needs to be even more cautions with her benefits from the SNAP program. While also caring for her 97-year-old mother, she finds unique ways to make it to the end of each month.