Ismael's Story
Capital Area Food Bank of Texas
Texas
http://austinfoodbank.org
The Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB) distributes food to Partner Agencies in 21 Central Texas counties, but the clients they serve sometimes have come from much farther away.
Ismael was a Cuban political prisoner for ten years before he was exiled to the United States as a refugee in 1981. Not knowing anyone in the US, he lived at a military base in Wisconsin before making his way to Austin. When Ismael arrived, he lived under Interstate 35 for three months until he was able to save up enough money from his job to rent a room in an apartment complex. It was there that he met his wife, Marjorie. For the next ten years, the couple was able to support themselves and their two daughters with their dual incomes, until Ismael injured himself at his job in 1992, and was unable to ever return to work again. It was at this time that their family first received food assistance from their neighborhood pantry at St. Ignatius church.
As the years went on, both Marjorie and Ismael suffered from cancer, until Marjorie passed away in 2007. She was a receptionist for El Buen Samaritano, one of CAFB’s Partner Agencies, for twenty years. Ismael volunteers at the organization when he can. Today, Ismael and his 22-year-old daughter Luisa, who is currently unemployed, are on a fixed income that consists of his SSI check and Marjorie’s $95 a month pension check. “Now that my mom has passed away, we need more help than we did before,” said Luisa. She has had difficulty finding a new job ever since her mom died. “Instead of giving people jobs, they’re taking them away. Even in the fast food places, they’re not hiring. It’s just difficult.”
In all their years of coming to St. Ignatius, Ismael says that he does notice a higher increase in clients. “Before, you didn’t have to take a number and wait in line. Now they have to use numbers, because they help so many more people.” Fortunately, the amount of groceries they receive from the pantry has not decreased, even as the community need has gone up.
Bob Craddock, co-director of the food pantry at St. Ignatius, recognizes that Ismael is especially appreciative of all that he receives from the pantry. “He’s always really polite and he hugs me every time he sees me,” said Bob. “He goes out of his way to make sure he thanks not only myself but all of the volunteers.”
Ismael is grateful not only for all of the services he receives from CAFB Partner Agencies, but also for the opportunity to live in a country that is welcoming and kind to him. “If I returned to Cuba, they would kill me,” he said. “Thank you Capital Area Food Bank and thank you America for everything you have given me.”