Stories of Hunger

A hero is someone who is admired for courage, outstanding achievements or noble qualities. While some people consider movie stars or athletes to be heroes, Mike puts food bank volunteers and donors above them all.  

“I know that they are heroes,” he said. “They stand above any basketball, baseball or football player. In the eyes of a lot of common people, they’re heroes. They are the ones making people’s lives just a little bit easier and you’ve got to respect that.”  

Mike, a veteran who served 17 years in the Navy, has a family of four with two of the four unemployed now thanks to COVID-19. 

“It’s kind of slim times right now,” he said. 

Currently, their only income is Mike’s small disability check, which he said isn’t enough to make ends meet.  

The Jesus in Disguise food pantry in Benton is one of the resources he uses to feed his family, and he is thankful it’s available. 

“It’s a variation of your lifestyle, but to a lot of these people it’s desperate times,” Mike said. “It’s what’s keeping them going. Without these, there’d be a lot of kids, lot of people would be eating less and less.”