While caring for her four children, Sandra worked full time, burning the candle at both ends to make sure that their needs were met every night before she returned to work in the morning. She and her husband worked tirelessly to provide for their family and make do with what they had.
After Sandra had her fifth and sixth children, she made the difficult decision to stay home and become a full-time caregiver, transitioning to a single-income household. Daycare was no longer affordable, and it didn’t make sense to be paying for childcare for six children on their budget. This changed their financial reality, and the family had to cut back even further on what they were able to afford, including things like terminating Sandra’s cell phone plan and getting creative to stretch her husband’s landscaping income as far as she could.
Despite trying to make a small, two-bedroom apartment work for their family of seven, they could no longer manage the high rent and soon lost their apartment. Fortunately, they were able to move into housing owned by her husband’s manager, offering some stability amid trying times. Still, it was difficult to afford the rent for this apartment and support six children.
Unsure of what to do, Sandra spoke with her children’s school and was encouraged to learn about and visit the Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank for help. “Never in my life did I think I would need food from the food bank, but this was help that we could get” Sandra shared. “I told my husband that while he worked to pay for the rent and the bills, I would do what I could to get our family food.”
In the midst of difficult circumstances, it was important to Sandra that she guided her children to focus on the things that matter.
“I believe that for me, as a mother, it is my responsibility to teach them to stay focused on what the important things are,” Sandra shared.
With the help of the food bank and other community resources, Sandra and her family are able to live healthy lives. Her children are able to focus on their education, and not where their next meal will come from. Sandra is proud to share that her eldest son has recently graduated from the University of Washington. She hopes that her family will not need to access the food bank forever, but she is grateful that it is giving her the opportunity to be where she needs to be for now- taking care of her kids.