Client Spotlight: Jessie Damroth

In the process of securing assistance, Jessie was introduced to the Newton Food Pantry. As someone with a long career working for nonprofit organizations, she understands the perception that sometimes accompanies asking for help, and she wants to turn that perception around. “My son had health issues, so I wasn’t able to start work. When that happens, you have to rely on services in your community,” she says, “You want to teach your kids that there are resources available and it’s ok to use them.”

“My child saw the bean sprouts and Asian noodles delivered by the Newton Food Pantry volunteer and asked, ‘Who is this magical lady?’”

Newton Food Pantry Client Jessie Damroth

For Jessie, the Newton Food Pantry fills in many of the gaps that services like SNAP leave open. “I have two kids including a teenage boy who eats a lot — benefits only go so far,” says Jessie, adding “my son doesn’t eat gluten, and while SNAP covers gluten-free food, it’s expensive. My daughter gets lunch at school, but it’s never quite enough. This keeps her from coming home hungry.”

The food Jessie gets from the Newton Food Pantry is enough for 10 days worth of meals, and she has learned to get creative with meal planning. “You have to think outside the box about how to use the supplies. I can do food prep and menu planning throughout the week with the kids,” she says, emphasizing that many people use our pantry for ingredients to make their own family favorites, “at the Newton Food Pantry you have choices — this is important. My kids were so excited to see mangos at the pantry. It made them feel ‘normal’ during this crazy time.”  

Jessie and her kids have made mango coconut rice cereal, soups and stews, Asian style cabbage wraps, and Nori wraps with canned tuna, sushi rice, and cucumbers or celery, all with food from the Newton Food Pantry.  “We marinated plantains in pineapple juice from a juice box, added ground coconut and then grilled them.” she says,  “and we made a mango salsa topping that we keep in the fridge,” she says, “super yummy and healthy.”

“Some people come for short term help, some need longer-term help,” says Jessie, who thinks it’s important for people to know that everyone who comes to the Newton Food Pantry has a unique situation, “When we came to Newton there was never an expectation of me not working — my son’s health got worse and I had no choice. There are people in Newton dealing with food insecurity — it’s needed more and more. It may be your neighbor. It hits across all levels and all ages.”