The 1 in 5: Realizing potential

On a recent Friday morning, the halls of Lloyd Elementary School in the Hermosa neighborhood should have been quiet and empty.  It was the start of a long weekend and a day off for the students.

Yet, the school was buzzing with activity. A line of laughing, smiling parents surrounded by children enjoying the cool November morning stretched down the sidewalk in front of the school. The families were there for a Healthy Kids Market distribution.

“See that line? It’s a long weekend. People don’t need to be here,” said Mihriba Amin, the program coordinator. “But they’re here because they need the food.”

The Market serves approximately 300 families at a weekly distribution. It is available to families with children in the school.

“The economy has hit this neighborhood hard,” Mihriba said. “Not many of the families here can get fresh produce.”

At the Market, parents were receiving fresh corn, apples, oranges, and cucumbers in addition to shelf stable food like bags of rice and canned items. Mihriba has been managing the program since it started five years ago. She chose Fridays for the distribution to target a specific need in the community.

“Kids have breakfast and lunch at school during the week,” she said. “But what happens on the weekend? Knowing that children will have food on Saturday and Sunday means so much to me.”

Mihriba understands how much the market means to the families, because she once struggled to afford food.

“I know where they’re coming from,” she said. “I know how much many of these families are battling.”

Mihriba and her husband came to the United States from Bosnia when she was 30 years old. She had a degree in agricultural engineering and her husband had a degree in civil engineering. But their degrees did not transfer to the U.S.

Not knowing English and unable to find a job, Mihriba applied for and began receiving SNAP benefits. She started working at a daycare and her husband got a job overnight cleaning at a hotel. Eventually they saved enough to afford a house and were able to get the appropriate credits to transfer their degrees.

Throughout her difficult transition, Mihriba saw the potential in herself and refused to give up. She knows the Healthy Kids Market helps families realize that potential within themselves.

“I did it. I know these families can too,” she said.