Humans of Brighter Bites (July 2017, 1 of 3)

“I come from a family of fourteen. I have eight brothers and six sisters. We were poor, but one thing we always did have was food on the table. My mom was a stay-at-home mom. My dad was in the military but also worked. My mom was the one that was always at home. She would try to give us certain foods to try and eat, but because we were poor we did get services. Back then, they called them “commodities.” Someone came and offered us Spam and things from a can. Back then, gardening wasn’t as big. We did rely on foods that we received, and mainly the ones that I remember were in cans. It wasn’t until maybe fourth or fifth grade that I really start thinking, wow, these carrots and these vegetables come out of the ground. We heard about it, but since we always saw them in cans, we didn’t really think that much about it.”

Humans of Brighter Bites is a series that captures how Brighter Bites volunteers, participants, teachers, and supporters connect with food. Check back here for each installment of the current story and each month for a new story.