As a child, I remember going to volunteer at an orphanage with my school and family. I vividly remember the heat that started to build up in my chest, fired by the jealousy I felt by seeing my mom give another little girl love and attention. I remember thinking “that is what she calls me, not her” when I heard my mom tell her she looked like a beautiful princess and gave her a big hug. But I also remember the sinking feeling in my stomach when my mom realized my reaction, and

The moment Mellie walked into Steps 2 Success, she wasn’t looking for a handout — she was looking for a path forward. “I knew it was definitely an avenue for me to go into,” she recalled. A mother of three strong, successful daughters and a proud grandmother and great-grandmother, Mellie had spent her life caring for others. She worked sporadically as a CNA/HHA through a local staffing agency, contracted for private care assignments that came and went without warning. The wor

Walking into the on-site food pantry at Lutheran Social Services last week, I noticed something troubling: our shelves looked bare. The crates that usually overflowed with donations had room to spare. At first, I wondered—was it just the end of the week? Were we waiting on our next shipment to come in? Unfortunately, that was not the case. Funding cuts to the USDA means that food pantries like ours are receiving significantly less resources than before. Still, through donatio