When you give to the Chattanooga Area Food Bank, your gifts directly benefit hardworking families who are struggling to support themselves. Daryl, a former contract painter, and his wife, Deborah, a retired nurse, are just two examples of what happens to so many seniors after they leave the workforce.

When the couple was younger and in better health, they had few financial worries. But over the years, they’ve dealt with a number of medical problems — including cancer, back and knee problems — that have forced them to stop working.

Like most people in the communities your gifts help serve, Daryl and Deborah are responsible, self-reliant people who worked hard to build their lives, but lost the ability to meet their basic needs. These include nourishing food, which is often out of reach on their small, fixed income.

Fortunately, they’ve found a solution — the Voluntary Action Center, a Food Bank feeding site your gifts help fund. The center offers a hot meal five times a week, plus a pantry that provides groceries that diners can take home to supplement their limited food budget.

As they reflect on your kindness and what it means to them, Daryl and Deborah are extremely grateful. “Thank you so much for this gift of food,” Deborah says. “You provide so that we don’t go hungry.”