A Life Free From Hunger

Imagine not having enough food to eat.  This week, and every week, the Salvation Army is encouraging Canadians to take a moment to recognize the hundreds of thousands of people in our country who don’t know where their next meal will come from.

Hunger is never planned and can happen to anyone.  Take Antoinette for example. A few years ago Antoinette and her husband chose to make Canada their home. They left Africa to provide educational opportunities for their six children with the hopes that would make better lives for them.

Just when Antoinette stopped feeling new and started feeling Canadian her husband abruptly left her and the children and returned to Africa.

Antoinette did her best to provide for her family. But when what little savings she had ran out, her family ate poorly and often skipped meals to make ends meet. It wasn’t long before she woke up hungry. Her kids went to school hungry. They turned out the lights at night hungry.

But with your support and help from a Salvation Army food bank Antoinette and her family were able to put hunger behind them. Also, Antoinette learned how to budget and make healthy affordable meals.

“My daughter was always sick,” says Antoinette. “When I learned how to make healthy soup, I could see the difference in how my daughter was feeling. She is even doing better in school.”

Many people do not realize the extent of hunger’s reach in this country. Each month, close to 900,000 Canadians are assisted by food banks, and 93,000 of them are accessing them for the first time.

“Food insecurity is often the direct result of circumstances beyond an individual’s control,” says Graham Moore, Public Relations and Development Secretary for The Salvation Army in Canada and Bermuda. “Giving our most vulnerable citizens even just a little bit of hope and dignity will go a long way in changing their lives.”