Catholic Charities of the Texas Panhandle Hunger Project - Amarillo, Texas
William - I come here once a month. I lost my job after ten and a half years. I was working with a contractor and I was his only employee. Work was really slow, especially in 2020, that's when I found this place. They have helped me out generously, I try not to take advantage of it because I'm probably in a lot better shape than half the people who come in here.
If work is good and everything, I won't make it here. I only worked two days last week, I worked only yesterday and we were done by noon. It was a small job and there's no work the rest of the week. When that happens, the money I do have gets used up and this helps me out.
I have a grand daughter I get to have on weekends and this helps out with her. I am blessed to be able to get the help I've been having.
Glenn - Volunteer
Volunteering here is a way to help others who are less fortunate. It's very fulfilling, very rewarding, it's been a blessing. I've been volunteering for about a year, usually on Tuesday mornings. I help stock shelves, help clients as they need help, taking their groceries out and all that.
I live in Canyon, just south of here. I'm looking to start a food pantry in Canyon to try to stamp out food insecurity. It would be the only food pantry in that county.
Food insecurity is such a big issue here and it's growing as I'm sure it is in communities across the nation. A lot of our clients rely on public transportation to get up here and if they are too far away, then it doesn't exist as an option. We plan to deliver to home-bound as well, those who can't get out of their house.
What I love about this area, I'm sure its that way across the nation too, there's no shortage of people willing to help, willing to roll up their sleeves and do what needs to be done. There's a very fine edge between having enough food and not having enough to eat. You never know when one morning you might wake up and you might need some help.
Getting that food pantry started down in Canyon, I've had people come out of the woodwork saying
“I want to be involved, let me know how I can help, let me know what I can do." It's a blessing.
Joseph - Volunteer
I was in the military for twenty years. I retired 17 years ago from the military and I've done a lot of jobs full time but once we got our house paid off it was like, I'm now just going to work part time.
I volunteer once a week and it's been a year since I started volunteering here. It was during Lent and we always talk about giving up something for Lent. In our more recent years, our parish and our priest have been saying what can you do for some giving, what can you do versus what can you give up, that was part of it I think. The other thing is helping people who are less fortunate. Kind of like what we did in the military, we helped a lot of people. I was in airlift, so we did a lot of humanitarian airlifts along with combat airlifts, but we did a lot of humanitarian. We went to Africa taking water purification equipment. I was a flight engineer. I loved it, it was great, it was one of the best enlisted jobs in the Air Force.
Charles - I come here once a month. I am on disability and I am very glad for what they have to give.