Demand is rising again for food assistance. A volunteer packs a truck bed at a food distribution at Leeward Community College in 2020. “I’ve been under more stress than I’ve ever been under in my entire life,” Gomes said. He fell two months behind on rent, before community organizations and family helped him catch up. This summer Gomes had to choose between paying rent and buying groceries. That extra $160 a month wasn’t enough to lift Gomes’ family out of poverty, but Gomes says it led to him losing the $972 a month in food assistance that he, his wife, and their 10-year-old daughter had been receiving. Then last November Gomes received a $1 an hour raise, bumping his pay to $17 an hour. Thurston Gomes thought that he had gotten his family into a fairly stable position.Īfter a period of unemployment during the pandemic, Gomes found a full time job as a maintenance worker, secured stable housing with the help of Section 8 vouchers, and successfully applied for food assistance benefits through the state.
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