52 Stories, 52 Weeks: Preparing for winter

Mary Ryan and her daughter Emma pick out meat at the New Hope United Methodist Church in Norwood Park.

Mary Ryan and her husband are struggling to put food on the table for their 4-year-old and 3-year-old daughters. And, as the colder months approach, Mary knows she will be faced with a stark choice: feeding her children or paying her utility bills.

“I’ll probably need the food pantry more, especially during the winter months,” she said.

Mary recently started coming to the New Hope United Methodist Church Food Pantry in Norwood Park twice a month, because the hours at her husband’s construction job were cut. With money already tight, Mary worries about paying for heating this winter.

“I can’t pay my utility bills in the winter, not with paying rent and buying food,” she said. “I’m just going to have to hope it doesn’t get turned off.”

Mary receives fresh fruit, vegetables, canned goods and meat at the pantry, which is especially critical this month, because she currently doesn’t have any Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, as the family is in the process of reapplying for the program.

“The pantry really helps us,” she said. “The food we get here keeps us going, especially now.”