GALESBURG — Lori Finley doesn’t use FISH Food Pantry every month.
And the 55-year-old’s relationship with Knox County’s largest food pantry is a little more nuanced than most might imagine. Finley always tries to give back and said she is careful to “only use the pantry as a safety net.”
Finley’s experience with food insecurity, defined by the United States Department of Agriculture’s a lack of access, at times, to nutritionally adequate food, started at a young age.
“My father always worked — he worked at Gale Products,” Finley explained. “We had eight children in the family and we got government food. That’s what we called it back then.
“They closed down Gale when I was teenager. That definitely made things harder. I remember we planted a garden and tried to do our best.”
Finley receives $750 a month is subsidies, and spends $500 a month on contract-for-deed payments.
“My fiancé passed away and that made things difficult,” Finley said. “So for the past two or three years I’ve been using the food pantry off and on. I feed two in my house and sometimes I take care of the grandkids and I try to make sure I have food for them.
“I try not to take it for granted. I don’t go just to go. And I do donate back. When I don’t have things I’m going to use, I make sure to give back.”
According to Feeding America, 13.8 percent of all people in Galesburg are considered food insecure — and Finley isn’t the only FISH client who gives back.
“We have a number of people who use our services who will turn around and donate whenever they cane,” FISH executive director Diane Copeland said. “I think people realize how much they’re helped and they want to help, too.”
Not long before Finley finished at FISH in early November, a man using the pantry explained how he tries to give back.
“I have a garden in the summer,” said the man, who asked that his name not be used. “I grow a lot of vegetables and I always make sure to bring plenty down here.
“I have to use the pantry because my medical bills are high and so are the costs of my medications. But I’ve found that I mainly use the pantry in the winter and during the summer I can give back.”
Finley said there was a “kind of shame” when she started using FISH to help her cover for times when she is short on money for food.
“It’s like I said, you don’t want people to think that you take it for granted,” she said. “When I first started coming, I was ashamed. I was embarrassed. I felt sure people would look down on me.”
Finley said knowing others struggle and “don’t just use FISH as an easy way to get food” made her feel better.
So did the people at FISH.
“I don’t think the people at FISH look down on me. I don’t think they look down on anyone,” Finley said. “The people here are wonderful. And it’s wonderful; how people donate to other people they don’t even know.
“It’s not easy to accept help. It’s not easy to feel like you’re dependent on others. I would say most people don’t choose to have to go to food pantries. I think most people would rather help than be helped.”
Tom Loewy: (309) 343-7181, ext. 256; tloewy@register-mail.com; @tomloewy
