When we first met Jaimie-Lea and her three children, her husband, Joe, had just stopped working. He had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.
“At the time we were struggling because he couldn’t work. We were trying to figure out how to get on welfare and how to move to the city for his treatment,” Jaimie-Lea explains. “A little after their dad was diagnosed, my kids started coming home with bags of food. That helped beyond belief because the food from Backpack Buddies was a way to make sure the kids always had what they needed when we might not have been able to give it to them.”
The support became even more crucial when Joe passed away this fall. As the family’s sole income earner, Joe’s passing means Jaimie-Lea now depends heavily on the two bags a week from Backpack Buddies and meal support from her children’s schools to keep her family fed.
“It’s a huge weight off my shoulders. It helps me feel secure knowing that I don’t have to worry about my kids so much. I know that the school and Backpack Buddies are going to provide regular snacks and staples, so I’m not stranded with empty cupboards.”
“When I’m paying all our bills I don’t have a lot left over for food — it’s terrifying. The amount that I have makes it almost impossible to feed our family of four — particularly my two growing boys.”
As Jaimie-Lea courageously perseveres, she doesn’t need to worry if her three growing children will eat tomorrow.
She knows she’s not alone because of people like you. Thank you for supporting Backpack Buddies and families like Jaimie-Lea’s.