Jamie has a family of five and has visiting the pantry at Faith Lutheran Church for 6 years. She’s lived in Clinton County for 31 years. She said that years ago she got $88 a month in food stamps but she now receives just $16 in SNAP benefits. She lives in subsidized housing and said recently her SS check went up by $12 and consequently her rent went up $126. Over the years she has worked in different factories as a machinist. Jamie expressed thankfulness for programs like the pantry at Faith Lutheran Church. She said that they’re very generous here (even if sometimes she goes home with expired foods). 

Jamie is frustrated with the systems in place in our society that allow people to work endlessly without being able to make ends meet. She’s frustrated that governmental benefits are hardly a safety net at this point, but rather part of people’s incomes. She said that she wishes people could generate more on benevolent factors. She thinks that if food programs were more prevalent there would be less crime. “It pays to feed us,” Jamie concluded