Kristina's Story

Kristina learned at a young age that it’s tough to raise a child while working minimum wage jobs.

The 25-year-old, who’s completing a two-year college degree in office administration, went through some tough times after getting pregnant right after graduating from high school. Becoming parents early on made it difficult to build a career, Kristina recalls, and she and her former husband faced a daily battle to feed themselves and their young daughter.

"It made me feel insignificant as a parent, like I couldn’t provide for her," Kristina says.

Initially, when the family ran out of money and food, the couple declined to ask for help. Kristina recalls feeling guilty about the prospect of using a food bank and believing that other people in the community had a greater need. When circumstances worsened, and out of concern for their daughter, the couple sought help from Second Harvest’s network of neighborhood food banks.

"Sometimes you don’t really realize how bad your situation is until you take a step back and look at it," Kristina says. "When you’re struggling, you don’t see an out to it."

They only accessed emergency food a few times, and during their roughest financial patches. But receiving help during those frightening moments made a difference, Kristina recalls.

After the marriage ended, the young mom did some soul searching and took a brave step. "I just decided one day that I wasn’t going to do this anymore. I wasn’t going to struggle to survive anymore. I wasn’t going to struggle to buy my kids the things they needed," she says.

So Kristina enrolled at Spokane Community College. The journey, which hasn’t been easy, came full circle recently when she accepted an internship with Second Harvest Inland Northwest. Kristina donates her time at the distribution center on East Front Avenue, while mastering skills that look good on a resume and helping Second Harvest battle hunger in the region.

Today, Kristina and her fiancé are raising two children and buying a first home as she prepares to graduate from college. The times when Kristina needed help feeding her daughter are in the distant past, while her family’s immediate future is full of promise.

"It’s way different than it was a few years ago. I don’t struggle to buy food. That’s the nice thing."

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