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SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – Feeding San Diego distributed more than 40 million meals in the last year alone. The nationwide non-profit organization works to provide hungry people with the meals they need. One local family in particular says that feeding San Diego has changed their lives for the better.
The moment you step into the Dagraedt household, the family of 6 appears like your everyday family.
“If you’d looked at someone like me and my kids, you’d have no idea,” says Karlyn, a mother of five.
In 2020, her family went through a pandemic and were divorced. Karlyn had homeschooled her children.
Now she is her sole carer. “You feel like you’ve failed and you feel like you have to fix everything,” she says. “And the truth is, I had to be there for my kids this season.”
The children slowly learned that home-cooked meals were becoming increasingly rare.
Karter, 12 snacks spread throughout the day and no full meals. “
An empty refrigerator, as Karlyn says, is the turning point for her to seek help. She found Feeding San Diego on social media: “I thought I was wondering if I could go because we could use some food.”
Her children, like 14-year-old Kenley, were hesitant at first, “I didn’t want to go because it’s embarrassing to have to get food from someone else.”
But when they got to their first grocery distribution, they found something else between Feeding San Diego and the other boards.
The people in line were families like hers.
“That comforted me,” says Karlyn. “That there are people like me everywhere who need this help.”
16-year-old Korbin points out, “The way it was done was really professional and it was really great that you tried to help.”
“To see other kids and families seemingly fine, but obviously people are going through situations and they don’t look like them,” says Kenley. “Knowing that there are people who don’t just judge from the outside is comforting.”
The bonus was not just finding a safe place, but finding a place to offer good, quality food.
“This is actually good food and we made good dinners,” says Korbin. “As if the food was actually good.”
9-year-old Kyla adds: “And now we actually have a snack cabinet that we all love!”
Almost two years later the Dagraedt children are going back to school and Karlyn has started a new job.
17-year-old Kaleb says that having various home-cooked meals easily accessible will give him new energy. “I would say that only good food helped and I’m much better today. I’m happier than before.”
“Made me a lot more productive and gave me a lot more energy,” says Korbin. “It just made me happier.”
The tight-knit pile is now closer than ever.
Karter says it’s thanks to a new kind of dinnertime. “I would say we bonded a lot more because we actually sat together and talked for a while and it’s a lot nicer now.”
The Dagraedts would like to thank those who spend their time and money helping them put their food on the table.
“Thanks for doing that,” said Kyla. “You don’t have to do this, of course, but they decided to help.”
“Not only do they give food, they give people hope,” Karlyn explains. “You encourage people. And that was the biggest part for me of knowing that this was out there for me too.”
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