Tag Archives: Low Income

May9

Local outreaches and food pantries

Posted on by
Standard

The bread and produce room

Last week several of us from around Orange County that serve the low income, some homeless, motel families, single parents and other services came together to meet at Second Harvest. It was wonderful because we finally met face to face with many that have a desire to serve those in need and have served for years but not for the money. Although there are many causes out in our world today, such as Charity Water, which is quite impressive to say the least, there are many of us who have worked for years serving without the thought of raising a lot of money, getting any kind of a paycheck, (most of us volunteer or are paid very minimal) or any recognition.

 

What was so nice were the ideas and things that these organizations do such as mobile health clinics, case management to help get others off the streets, children’s books and programs with Project Dignity, churches that give out food and cooked meals. I mean this is outstanding if you really think about it.

Some of us give money and we need money to pay for the gas, the facilities, the food, the overhead and some part-time staff. But others of us give time. We get yelled at sometimes, we get kissed on the face, we get hugs and thank yous…people on the street that you don’t remember helping come and tell you thank you when you are getting your Starbucks. (yes, I am addicted, just ask anyone)  Those moments are priceless. Most of us are not government supported because if so, they could tell us who to serve or who not to serve. We are people serving and giving.

This flood of feelings come over you when a mom leans over her car and cries and cries when one of us gave her a gift or a cake because she feels God heard her prayer. Or the family who just got kicked out of their apartment because they just could not afford it any longer and you are able to pay for one night somewhere and the only reason you could do that was because a dedicated family who is teaching their children to give saves all their coins to give to YAS and you just happened to get that envelope.

You make so many friends it is incredible. We all stand side by side working in all different ways, packing, cleaning, patrolling, sorting, mopping….you name it we do it.

I just want to say a big thank you to those who do not do this for the recognition but because of love and some of us are commanded to do so by Christ who said, “freely you have received, freely give.”

March.April 2013 059

Those in need that come weekly

 

Apr16

Shepherd House’s nine food pantries aid thousands – News – Standard Speaker

Posted on by
Standard

Just as this person said….we are feeding families now and not just individuals.

 

Shepherd House’s nine food pantries aid thousands – News – Standard Speaker.

Nov15

Report: Many in Orange County lack basic needs | county, orange, – Life – The Orange County Register

Posted on by
Standard

Report: Many in Orange County lack basic needs | county, orange, – Life – The Orange County Register.

Feb7

Dura Doggie, food pantries and volunteers at You Are Special food pantry in Orange!

Posted on by
Standard

Every Tuesday a dedicated group of people unbeknownst to many come and sort the food that You Are Special gives out every single Wednesday to the low income, working poor, homeless and just plain struggling in Orange and the surrounding cities of Santa Ana, El Modena, Anaheim, Tustin and Villa Park. They sort the food that many grocery stores such as Trader Joe’s, Albertson’s, Pacific Ranch Market, Ralph’s, Chipotle and even Starbucks donates and gives to us, a little ole food pantry in this wonderful city of Orange.  A city that many think is just a bubble in Orange County. We are surrounded by wealth but beneath the surface are those that struggle especially during this time and season of economic hardship.

Well, this week we had a wonderful new fresh company start up, come and volunteer to help sort the food out for tomorrow, Dura Doggie . Elaine contacted me and asked how they could help us, so we told them. Their company spent several hours listening to our stories, sorting fruits and vegetables, bread, unloading heavy boxes and became part of the organization for a day. 

Thank you Dura Doggie for being so generous in supporting YAS with your time and hard work!

Michelle

Related articles
Jan21

Shoe giveaway at Toms for those in need…

Posted on by
Standard
TOMS Shoes

Image via Wikipedia

My son Skylar purchased a pair of Toms Shoes for my third grandchild, Jaxon. I am not a fan of these shoes because I don’t like to be cold and they look like slippers to me. However, they are quite popular right now and the little shoes, Jaxon is only one, are pretty cute. I am a mom and a grandma so pretty is an accurate description but right on the box as I was opening them up was this statement, “With every pair you purchase, Toms will give a paid of new shoes to a child in need. One for One.” I was totally impressed. Thank you Toms for thinking of those in need. There are many in the US who have a need too. Bless you!

Related articles
Jan18

Neighbors who give to food pantries

Posted on by
Standard
Piggy bank china

Image via Wikipedia

After feeding those in need today which was about 261 families, a little more than we ususually give out too, a man stopped by and popped in the door of You Are Special and approached my son, Caleb. He asked, “Is this the food pantry?” to which Caleb responded, “yes but we are all out of food.” Jason responded with , “no, no, I am not here to get food but to drop off some money.” Very surprised Caleb responded with, “Wow, well go right over there and you’ll find the person you need to talk to.” So Jason came over and met my husband Eric who then brought me out. Jason preceded to tell us that he and his family have some piggy bank jars lined up in their house and they put money in there for different purposes and one of those purposes was to give to YAS, a local food pantry. Needless to say that was extremely generous and kind to think of us. The amount does not matter but the heart of giving does.

Right now the economy is challenging and many people are hurting and have a basic need to feed their families. We serve whoever has a need no questions asked the unemployed, the homeless, the working poor, children, the destitute, the single parents, the youth out of college that do not have jobs right now, and the elderly which make up almost half of who we give too. It breaks my heart. One lady told me that she is feeding her family of 30 this weekend for Chinese New Year. I would have liked to help her more but we just don’t have the finance capability to do that.

We so appreciate those who stop by like Jason and his wife Jennifer and for that we are thankful for their generosity and their heart.

Michelle

Related articles
Dec1

Bottom Line – Lingering joblessness taxes nation’s food banks

Posted on by
Standard

Bottom Line – Lingering joblessness taxes nation’s food banks.

There are many questions surrounding whether or not people in the area where we live, Orange, Tustin, Villa Park, Santa Ana and El Modena really have a need for food and a food pantry whether elderly in need of food, working poor, single parents or unemployed.

Some statistics are: Percentage of residents living in poverty in 2009: 8.5%
(8.7% for White Non-Hispanic residents, 9.3% for Hispanic or Latino residents)

Read more: http://www.city-data.com/city/Orange-California.html#ixzz1fIlFFKb7

This is below poverty not even at poverty. 15 years old is the highest poverty level in Orange, why is that? How about Tustin? Those that are struggling to eat are all over the US and California is second in unemployment.

We do need help as a food pantry/food bank for those in our area and thank you to those who so generously give to us such as First Team Reality who gave generously to You Are Special this Thanksgiving.

Eric with Richard from First Team Real Estate's Food Drive

Oct14

Life Inc. – Good Graph Friday: Who’s going hungry

Posted on by
Standard

Life Inc. – Good Graph Friday: Who’s going hungry.

As a food bank in Orange County, we are seeing another growth spurt in the need for food. Many come from all walks of life. Many elderly, youth that are homeless and families are in need of food. We appreciate all those who contribute to our program because it helps tremendously.

Related articles
Sep14

Poverty In America: A Special Report

Posted on by
Standard

Economic Collapse Blog

Poverty In America: A Special Report

America is getting poorer. The U.S. government has just released a bunch of new statistics about poverty in America, and once again this year the news is not good. According to a special report from the U.S. Census Bureau, 46.2 million Americans are now living in poverty. The number of those living in poverty in America has grown by 2.6 million in just the last 12 months, and that is the largest increase that we have ever seen since the U.S. government began calculating poverty figures back in 1959. Not only that, median household income has also fallen once again. In case you are keeping track, that makes three years in a row. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, median household income in the United States dropped 2.3% in 2010 after accounting for inflation. Overall, median household income in the United States has declined by a total of 6.8% once you account for inflation since December 2007. So should we be excited that our incomes are going down and that a record number of Americans slipped into poverty last year? Should we be thrilled that the economic pie is shrinking and that our debt levels are exploding? All of those that claimed that the U.S. economy was recovering and that everything was going to be just fine have some explaining to do.

Back in the year 2000, 11.3% of all Americans were living in poverty. Today, 15.1% of all Americans are living in poverty. The last time the poverty level was this high was back in 1993.

via Poverty In America: A Special Report.