Stories of Hunger

James was glad he had his hat on as he stood in the rain one Saturday evening for a mobile food pantry in Kennett, MO. James, 78, wasn’t there for himself but for others he had brought with him.

He enjoys bringing friends to food pantries to get some extra help with food. This time he brought a couple of his friends. He said that one of his friends lives in low-income housing and needed some food to get by.

Even though it was raining the day of the event, James said that the line was formed and starting to back up when he got there.

“I got here around 3:30 p.m. and people were already lined up around the side of the building,” James said.

This particular mobile food pantry was set for a starting time of 5 p.m.

James is a former farmer from Kennett and understands the importance of mobile food pantries such as the ones that Southeast Missouri Food Bank provides. He said he used to donate produce from his crops when he had extra to spare.

“Thanks to the farmers because without them, I don’t think pantries could do something like this for people,” he said.