06/18/2026
Recently I came across a note. It was written by a donor who came to our warehouse and went out on a delivery route with us. I was with them that day and we delivered to some seniors who were in desperate need of help. I know how it makes me feel when I meet these folks, shake their hands, hug their necks, and look into their weary eyes. It's always been the same for me, for more years than I can count. You never get used to it. Whether they are survivors of domestic violence or sexual assault, parents of children who would have nothing to give their children for Christmas, trafficked farmworkers in Hastings, or seniors, who could be my mother or yours, but are surely someone's. And still, after all these years, we need to be reminded of the harsh reality that is senior hunger. As the donor wrote in her letter, " people whose lives speak of horror, desperation, and prayed for hope, lives most of us could barely believe were possible to survive, are beyond words."
It is hard to imagine that the little old lady behind you in the supermarket line, with a can of tuna and two bananas, was not at the store just picking up a few items. Those few items could be what she has to eat for a week. Or longer. And yet, we must do more than imagine it; we must confront the reality that this is the truth for the 927 seniors we serve and thousands more.
Behind each of the 927 numbers is a human being. A hungry senior. Our neighbor. Your best friend's grandma. Your fourth-grade teacher. And they are desperate and just barely hanging on until a Pie volunteer shows up at their door with a smile, a hug, compassion, and food.
Think about it.
Help us end the desperation of senior hunger.
www.pieintheskystjohns.org
