Robert and Edie Rowland were EMTs for more than 15 years. Hard working and dedicated, they never thought that one day they would face food insecurity in North Carolina. Years ago, they met on the job and later married. Over time, lifting people and heavy objects took a serious toll on their necks and backs, one of the challenges of their both physical and stressful profession. Unfortunately, they were unable to keep working as EMTs due to the strain. Eventually, Robert was unable to work completely and Edie lost her job in retail.
They were struggling to keep up with bills and were falling behind financially. This is one of the unfortunate effects of food insecurity. Eventually, they were unable to buy enough food for the family. The result was the need for hunger relief to meet these gaps in income caused by unforeseen circumstances.
But everything changed when Edie met a woman who lived around the block from her. The woman was a member of Eastern Star Church in North Carolina. Eastern Star Church operates a food pantry that helps fight food insecurity in North Carolina. Operation Blessing regularly provides food to their pantry. She told Edie about their monthly food distributions and said they could help with hunger relief. Edie and Robert began visiting the distributions, stocking up on groceries and other resources for their tight times. They are very grateful for the precious blessing received when they needed it most. Thank you! To learn how you can get involved, visit https://www.ob.org/hunger-relief/.
