Luz, a mother raising seven children in a vibrant town southwest of San Juan, takes great pride in raising her children. “I pray to [God] that he won’t take me before my children are grown,” she says in Spanish. “When they are grown, when they can defend themselves and have met their goals, he can take me.” Her dreams for her kids are the same as any parent’s, but the weight of these desires is compounded by the fact she is a single mother. Jenison and Yadiel, 11 and 9 respectively, are the youngest of her kids.
In May, Luz was approached by the young boys’ school to participate in a new extension of Banco de Alimentos’ BackPack Program. Since then, Luz has seen the burgeoning Feeding America program as a great way for the young boys to stay fed over the weekends, especially when she can’t beat home to make them a full meal. One of Jenison and Yadiel’s two sisters has chronic kidney problems that require great medical care, and Luz must often leave the two boys at home so she can take her daughter to medical appointments. The weekly roller bags full of cereal, shelf-stable milk, mini sausages, juice and snack bars are a nutritious alternative to the home-cooked meals Luz makes for her family. They offer a practical and tasty way for the boys to have food while their mother is away.
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