FIERCe

Student: "I started back to PCC, um, when my first child was first in Preschool, and was meaning to go back and get a nursing degree. Um, and then I transitioned into early childhood education and child development, while I was there. Um, and then finished my degree and worked some in the Child Development Center and, um, eventually became a full-time employee in the Child Development Center.

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We were receiving food stamps for probably all the time that I was a student and for most of the time while I was an employee, um. Yeah, and then I had heard of the food pantry, um, kinda much later in my student and employee career. I never actually took advantage of it but I heard that people had.

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So on top of as a full-time employee, still not making enough money to not qualify for food stamps I was paying about seven hundred dollars a month to have my child in the Childcare Center."

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Interviewer: "And you were working in the Childcare Center?"

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Student: "And I was working in the Childcare Center, but there was no employee discount for childcare. I guess I felt that once I was a full time employee of such a large, like, state-run institution that it would just be a given that my family would be making enough to not have to be on food stamps.

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Interviewer: "So you have a family of four, two kids?"

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Student: "I do. Mm-hmm. I have a, yep; now eleven year old and four year old. I went back when my now eleven year old was three or four? Um, as I said, starting out thinking I was going into nursing school. Um, and then during my time there I broke my leg, and then the next year my

husband had, uh, an appendicitis that ruptured and had to have multiple surgeries. And so I was out for some time during that time.

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Interviewer: "Was the food stamps enough to help you guys through that time?"

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Student: "Um, sometimes, yes. Um, but, well, I think there were times when I, I tried to give my kids the healthy food, and then I would, um, I don't know; eat a little here or there, not as healthy. Um, there also was, when I worked at the Child Development Center I was in a weird--a unique position I guess that the children are served for breakfast and, um, an afternoon snack. And we sit with them cause they eat family style, and so I would sometimes eat there, um, and so fill up on food there, essentially for free. So I wouldn't have to pay for food.

Like the process of figuring out where you can get food, whether it's food pantry style or even the process of applying for foodstamps is kinda--

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Interviewer: "Difficult?"

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Student: "Yeah. Kind of a nightmare. And every, I can't remember what it is now; every six months you have to like, re-give them all of your family's social security numbers and reapply and work through it that way.

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Interviewer: "Do you think that the food pantry could have been more obvious to you when you were attending?"

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Student: "Yeah, I guess, yeah. When I heard about it, at that point, I was told it had been going on for years but it was not announced--I don't know, in a way that I heard that it was available."