Eneida needed help

The One May 02, 2024

Hello Tushar,

Pearl Street Cupboard & Café is experiencing a drastic increase in the number of people seeking food assistance, and the food pantry is facing an extraordinary need for more food so that we can continue to provide free groceries to our clients in-need like Eneida.

Eneida works for a local Framingham nonprofit, trying to prevent homelessness and protect those who are most vulnerable. She brings clients to our Pearl Street Cupboard & Café when they’re in need of food, but Eneida also comes here for help herself.

"They’re great," she said. "They’re amazing. They help so many people out."

Eneida, a single mom, sometimes needs help getting by. She qualifies for $100 a month in food stamps (SNAP benefits) but "that's not enough to get me through with a 5-year-old." Eneida works full time as a case manager and even has a "side hustle" on Sundays so she makes enough to cover rent on a studio apartment, plus car payments, insurance and daycare. But it sure isn't easy making ends meet.

Still, Eneida's is a success story, since she once lived in a shelter.

"I do supportive housing and homeless prevention—go figure, right?" Eneida said. "I wish I had someone like me helping me when I was in need. I was born from the struggle. I’m all about helping people, but there’s also times when we need the help."

"Today’s one of those months that I needed it, and, as you can see, they hooked me up pretty darn good," Eneida said as she loaded groceries into her car. "You will never go hungry as long as there are food pantries around."

In the first quarter of 2024, PSCC registered 622 new families needing assistance.

Hunger is on the rise in Massachusetts as food costs continue to soar.

The Greater Boston Food Bank reports that one-third of Massachusetts adults are struggling to get enough to eat.

You can help the Pearl Street Cupboard & Café as we confront this extraordinary need. Please help us keep food on the table for our vulnerable neighbors and turn Hunger to Hope for MetroWest residents in need.

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