When a Chihuahua kept kissing Monroe, 62, he told her, “If I ever had a woman like you, I’d be the happiest man.”
Despite all his ailments, Monroe’s sense of humor continues to shine. But behind all the jokes, he lives with a heartache that shakes him up a bit when he looks back on his past.
Getting a little teary, he remembers taking care of his parents during the last years of their lives. He took care of his mom while she received dialysis treatment, but her condition made it hard to feed her, and she looked lifeless, he said.
“We were going through hard times to where I would feed her all the food,” Monroe said. “There were times I wouldn’t eat, because I wanted to take care of my mother and get her to live longer.”
After suffering a massive heart attack, she lost her battle and passed away. Shortly after, Monroe’s disabled dad moved in with him.
With Monroe’s limited income, they had a difficult time and he turned to the Food Bank’s Partner Agency, Caritas of Waco, for assistance. He relied on the food he received to help feed his dad. At Caritas he picked up fruit, bread, carrots, vegetables, canned goods and sometimes a cake.
“I shared with my dad, and it was rough times, but we made the best of it, and [I] thank God for everything he’s done for us,” he said.
Though his dad has passed away, he continues to rely on the food he receives at the food pantry. In addition to having diabetes I and II, Monroe’s triple bypass and two open heart surgeries have left him disabled. His only source of income is disability benefits, but this isn’t enough to cover all his expenses. Monroe is just one of the 52,000 seniors that depend on the Food Bank when their income isn’t enough to cover food.
“By the time I pay all my bills and everything, I don’t have [any] money left over, so I come to Caritas… to help me get through the month,” he said.
Due to his medical condition, skipping a meal is not an option. He has to have two injections a day and take seven pills in the morning and three at night. All his medication has to be taken with food or he starts feeling sick and lightheaded.
“I try to hold out as much as I can until I start getting headaches, and if I can, I’ll go to the store and buy me a loaf of bread and just eat toast and butter and jelly, and sometimes peanut butter, that would hold me over,” he said. “That’s all you can do.”
After 12 years of receiving assistance at Caritas, Monroe is grateful for the all the food he has been provided. Food to help feed his father during his last years and food to help him survive after his disability left him without much income. To better represent our clients like Monroe living in Waco and in our vast 21 county service area, on June 1 the Capital Area Food Bank will become the Central Texas Food Bank.
“Every little bit helps, especially when you’re on a low, and I’m on a very low, low income,” he said. “We appreciate what we can get.”
