From Middle-Class to Food Pantry: Single Dad Sells Possessions to Feed His Family
Once part of the middle-class, Don Orange now relies on food bank assistance.
Aug. 24, 2011— -- On grocery day, Don Orange gets only the food he needs to feed his two kids at the only price he can afford -- which is nothing.
Since June, Orange, who is unemployed, has been a regular at the Bonita Springs Assistance Office food pantry in Bonita Springs, Fla. He joins the swelling number of middle-class Americans who now need the most basic help to make sure they can feed their families.
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Because of local food pantries, Orange, a 35-year-old single dad, said his two kids, Abigail, 6, and Aidon, 4, have never gone hungry. But it wasn't always that way.
A few months after receiving his last unemployment check in April, Orange said his bank account was "zero" and the cupboard was almost bare.
"Enough left to feed the kids a couple of breakfasts, couple of lunches," he said.
Five years ago, Orange managed a chain of Shoe Carnival stores and lived on a street lined with big houses in Florida, where many of his neighbors owned boats. At the time, he was pulling in a salary in excess of $50,000 and had no doubt whatsoever that this is where he belonged. Until he was laid off.
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Shortly after, Orange was hired as a general manager at a wedding apparel business at Sacino's in Fort Myers. But 11 months later, the company closed most of its local stores and he was again out of a job. That was more than a year ago.
"It's pretty rough," he said. "We wonder from day to day where we're going to get money from. ... I feel lower class."
Al Brislain, who runs the Harry Chapin Food Bank in Fort Myers, which supplies nearly 200 food pantries in southwest Florida with basic staples -- and more recently, meat and fresh produce -- said the food bank has seen a 60 percent increase in partners signing up to get food since the recession started.
