When Rosetta was growing up in San Francisco, she was one of five children. She always looked forward to Sunday dinner because that’s when her daddy cooked. “He was the best cook in the neighborhood,” she said.
At Thanksgiving, Rosetta’s father would cook up a storm, somehow squeezing dozens of family members and friends into their small home for a festive holiday meal.
When Rosetta got older and had three sons of her own, she always felt that providing healthy, nutritious food was critical. Buying enough food was no big deal while she was married and working as a nurse.
However, when she was 40, Rosetta divorced and became disabled. Overnight, her monthly income was slashed in half, and she struggled to feed her sons.
“I worked so hard to keep my boys out of trouble,” said Rosetta. “The best way to do that was football. But they really did eat me out of house and home.”
Rosetta started attending the food pantry at her local church, where she picked up fresh produce and other groceries to nourish her children. Today, the church is one of the Food Bank’s 253 neighborhood pantries.
“Financially, the Food Bank saved me,” said Rosetta. “It allowed me to give my children the nutrition they needed to play sports. It’s those sports that kept them out of trouble.”
Today, Rosetta’s sons are all grown up and working hard to support their own families. At Thanksgiving, they’ll all come together. Rosetta will bring steamed greens she’s harvested from her small garden. Saving the ends of vegetables she receives from the Food Bank, she roots them in water, and then plants them in a tidy plot outside her apartment.
“This Thanksgiving, when I’m feeling gratitude for my family, I’ll also be feeling gratitude for the Food Bank for helping me feed my family healthy food,” said Rosetta. “The people who give to the Food Bank are like guardian angels.”
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