This month I had the pleasure of meeting a woman by the name of “Maria.” The reason why I will be referring to this person as Maria is because she asked for me to keep her identity anonymous. Maria is someone who has been coming to the La Voz Sylmar Church food pantry for some time now.

When asked the reason why Maria decided to start coming to the pantry, she said: “When the pandemic started, my family started to experience some financial hardships. Because of that, we needed to find ways to make ends meet and feed our family. Once the bills got paid, we would struggle to put an appropriate amount of food on the table.”

Maria told us that she appreciates the location since it is not too far from her home. She also told us that she enjoys interacting with the staff. “When I first came, I felt a little ashamed,” Maria said. “I had never been in a position in which I had to rely on a community resource center like this to help feed my family. The staff here is so friendly that they make me feel like part of a greater family.”

The pantry continues to impact the Sylmar community in a positive way. Testimonies like Maria’s can be heard by many of those who take part in the program here. We hope to continue to provide good food and excellent customer service to all those that continue to come through our doors.

–Submitted by Freddy, pantry coordinator at La Voz-Sylmar