Client Spotlight: Tammy Singer

Tammy and her husband were hesitant at first. “We felt apprehensive about signing up. In our minds, from where we’re from, food pantries are for people who are ‘desperate’,” she remembers. “We felt like, we have a home, we go to school, we didn’t feel ‘needy’ enough to use a food pantry. Then we realized we were.”

Tammy and her family were immediately put at ease. “It was the most incredible experience. The people we met were really kind and helpful,” she recalls. But even more importantly, “There was a dignity to it. We didn’t feel like we were burdening anyone or taking advantage. We felt that we were treated with so much care and a sense of community. The feeling we got was ‘you’re part of us, we will take care of you.’ For someone who’s not even from America to feel that, it feels incredible. To be a complete outsider and receive the same treatment as someone who has grown up in the neighborhood, it’s a beautiful experience. This helped us feel better about coming back, and gave us more resolve to hang in and wait for better days.”

Tammy has been pleasantly surprised by the selection of food available at the Newton Food Pantry. “With a little one, our biggest concern was produce, having fresh food. We were really concerned about nutrition, and there has always been a good variety of fruit and vegetables,” she says, noting that shopping at our pantry is especially fun for Alicia. “When we do have money we only buy necessities, so it’s wonderful to find a treat for her at the Newton Food Pantry. The goody bags are things we wouldn’t buy for her. They are like luxuries. Things like Pirate’s Booty. They make her feel like a regular kid.”

Shopping at the Newton Food Pantry has inspired Tammy and her family to want to do something in return. “What it says to me is ‘you’re not going to be in this situation forever, and at some point, I hope to be in a position to give back. Someday there will be another family that is in the position I’m in, and I hope to be for them what the volunteers have been for me. As a community, it’s so important to know that we’re all in this together.”