How a School Pantry Supports a Family Experiencing Homelessness

In March of this year, Feeding San Diego established a new school pantry site at the Monarch School, which serves students facing homelessness in grades K-12. This new distribution allows families to come to campus to pick up food, interact with the teachers, and access other resources. We visited the farmer’s market-style distribution in October to meet some of the attendees and Monarch School staff.

A Single Mother’s Story

There, we met Ashley, a 23-year-old native San Diegan and single mother currently experiencing homelessness with her daughter, Natalie. While Natalie is too young to attend Monarch School, Ashley found out about the distribution because her teenage siblings attend. She shared more about the challenges she is facing to afford permanent housing.

“In order for me to get an apartment, I would have to work two fast food jobs, and I don’t have the babysitter for it, first of all. And forget about school and forget about my actual goals. If rent was lower, I could maybe focus on achieving my goals in my career,” she shares. “Being a single parent makes it even more difficult. I do not share custody. Natalie’s father is not responsible so I don’t think he’s reliable for her.”

A Family’s Challenges

At the distribution that day, Ashley and her siblings were able to receive fresh produce including carrots, corn, celery, onions, and potatoes, which she’ll cook at her sister’s house. She is currently at a shelter so isn’t able to cook there.

“We don’t get to buy fruits and vegetables like that all the time,” she continues. “My sister, she works, but pretty much all her money goes to rent and her car payment. She doesn’t have money to buy other things, like shoes for her kids. Monarch School is very, very helpful. They provide shampoo, clothes. My sister can’t afford those luxuries. Shampoo, toothpaste, nice shoes that these kids are into these days.”

“We tend to try to do everything ourselves even though sometimes it’s very hard or overwhelming,”

Ashley’s life has not been without its challenges and she is grateful for any help she can get. “We tend to try to do everything ourselves even though sometimes it’s very hard or overwhelming,” she says. “This food helps us stretch our budget throughout the month. Our kids eat throughout the day, at least five servings, so this helps us a lot throughout the day, the month, the year. Thank you, we really appreciate what you’re doing for us. It makes a very big difference in our lives.”