“I Have a Job, but It Doesn’t Mean That I Don’t Struggle”
Food insecurity can affect people even when they are working. One young Venice resident shares how St. Joseph Center Food Pantry has helped ease the pressure of rising food costs while giving her greater stability and hope.
The Food Pantry visitor featured in this story asked to remain anonymous. Her quotes have been lightly edited for clarity and concision.
It is a sunny morning at St. Joseph Center’s headquarters in Venice. St. Joseph Center Food Pantry has just opened and a line has already formed, curving toward the gates as people wait to bring groceries home.
Near the front, two señoras who are longtime Food Pantry visitors laugh together. Nearby, a young woman looks through canned goods at a table. For the past two months, she has been coming to the Food Pantry for help making ends meet.
“Coming here has let me feel like I’m actually living instead of always struggling,” she said.
Her bags are filled with celery, apples, cucumbers, nectarines, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cilantro, limes, cauliflower, rice, grapes and seaweed, a healthy selection for her vegan lifestyle. She estimates the groceries would cost about $130 at a store.
“Coming here has let me feel like I’m actually living instead of always struggling.”
“It literally lasts me throughout the whole week. It has been the greatest blessing coming here,” the 20-year-old said.
The rising cost of fresh food has been especially difficult because produce can consume a significant portion of a limited grocery budget.
“The Food Pantry has given me this abundance and taken such a weight off my shoulders,” she continued.
Lorena Gonzalez, Program Manager of St. Joseph Center Food Pantry, said the young woman’s experience reflects a broader shift. More people with jobs are seeking food assistance, many for the first time.
“Even having two working adults in a home is sometimes not enough to put good, nutritious food on the table,” Gonzalez said.
As living costs outpace wages, households with regular paychecks may have little left for nutritious food after paying for housing, transportation, utilities, childcare and other necessities.
More Than a Bag of Groceries
St. Joseph Center’s belief that access to nutritious food is a human right is at the heart of the NOURISH campaign. Nourish, one of the core service pillars guiding our work, reflects our longstanding commitment to ensuring Angelenos have the nourishment they need to thrive. Reliable access to groceries can ease stress, promote well-being and give people the stability they need.
“I Am Important, Too”
For people seeking food assistance for the first time, walking through the gates can be difficult. Gonzalez said some new Food Pantry visitors feel they need to explain why they need help or are ashamed to ask.
“There’s no shame in coming here and picking up food that’s donated for a reason,” Gonzalez said.
The 20-year-old has a similar message for anyone who is working but still needs support.
“I have a job and I work, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t struggle,” she said.
Accepting help, she explained, is also a way of caring for yourself and your family.
“I need to nourish and feed myself, too,” she said. “I am important, too, and I matter.”
She believes having enough nutritious food gives people more capacity to care for others and pursue the lives they are working to build.
“When people feel supported while they’re trying their best, it’s easier for them to spread love and light,” she said. “A lot of us out there are really just trying our best.”
“I need to nourish and feed myself, too. I am important, too, and I matter.”
Filling the Gaps
Much of the food distributed by the St. Joseph Center Food Pantry is donated, but donations do not always match what visitors need. Eggs, cooking oil and dairy products such as yogurt, milk and butter are among the items additional funding would help purchase.
“It would give us the ability to fill in the gaps for those Food Pantry items that we don’t get donated,” Gonzalez said.
For the Venice resident, that support eases the pressure of covering her expenses on her own.
A Message to Donors
For the young woman, donor generosity is reflected in the groceries she brings home each week.
“You are one of the people behind making this happen,” the young woman said. “Please keep doing it. It has given me hope and made it more sustainable for me to live here.”
Her final message was simple.
“Thank you. Truly, thank you,” she said. “This has changed my life.”
“Please keep doing it. It has given me hope and made it more sustainable for me to live here.”
NOURISH helps ensure that when someone walks through St. Joseph Center’s gates, nutritious food is waiting, along with a place where asking for help is met with dignity.
Food insecurity does not always look the way we expect it to. Neither do the people standing in line.
Your support helps working individuals and families access fresh, nutritious food while creating room for greater stability, hope and possibility.
Learn more about how St. Joseph Center is addressing food insecurity through our Nourish programs.
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