St. Joseph Parish Food Pantry - Springfield, Missouri
St. Joseph Parish Food Pantry provides free groceries to families and individuals. Sponsored by St. Joseph Catholic Church, the Food Pantry provides help to low income families, single parents, senior citizens, unemployed people, and anyone in need of food assistance.
Leon - Volunteer
When I started volunteering about four years ago, there were signs for workers needed and I thought: get a job. I’ve learned that there are people who can’t work and grandparents raising their grand kids. We’ve got quite a few of those. I say to them, “You’re sixty years old and you’ve got a three year old?” And they say, “I’m raising my children’s children because they are in jail or their parents abandoned them, or the parents are living with me too.”
Daniel
A few years ago, I used to judge everybody, by the the way they look, dressed, acted; there's no sense in it. Stay positive, have a positive attitude, have positive outcomes. Have negative attitudes, have negative outcomes. That's how I see it.
I try to help when I can, whoever it is. All I know is that I do what I can for whoever.
Without some kind of ID, some food pantries won't let you get food. A lot of homeless don't have ID's, social security cards or birth certificate and stuff like that because they lose them because they're homeless. I was there once. I kind of still am. I still stay here and there. Right now I am in a house, they just don't have any electrical or water, I guess it still is being somewhat homeless. I've got a little butane heater to heat water up, its rough right now. My girlfriend is sick, she has a cyst on her ovaries the size of a grapefruit and she won't have surgery for three months. She can't really do anything so all of the running, working, and money coming in is just me right now. This bicycle is my only transportation.
Frank
I come here every Tuesday, been coming for about 9 months, and this has been helping me out big time.
I'm on social security which doesn't give very much money. My dog's name is Lucky, he's spoiled too, I try to make him happy.