Rosella and Leslie visit an emergency food pantry four or five times a year to stretch their food budget. The octogenarians live in an RV park down the road from New Hope Foursquare Church which opens its doors for food distribution Tuesday late afternoons.

They are among the more than 39,000 people each month who receive emergency food assistance from MPFS partner charities in Marion and Polk counties thanks to the generosity of our donors.

The couple lives on about $1,300 per month from Social Security to pay for space rent, payments on their RV and car, utilities, food and everything else they may need. Leslie, who is diabetic, receives $190 in food stamps. When the electric bill goes up, their income is stretched to breaking point.

In their prime, Rosella was a waitress and later a foster parent, Leslie was a factory worker.

Asked what they would do without food assistance: “It would be very hard.”