Sandra and her children

Sandra Davis and her family are among the growing number of families in Connecticut who are food insecure. Each month she has barely enough food to feed her family. Often the food that Sandra can afford has little or no nutritional value. Sandra suffers from diabetes. In this photo she has gift certificates to use at a Walmart and no transportation to get there to use them. She has had to call friends and family and has finally bartered with a friend to give her a ride in exchange for half of the gift certificate's value. After the call, tears roll down her cheeks. The case manager, Elaina Papachristos at Mercy Housing and Shelter Corp. had given Sandra the $50 in gift certificates for her and her children to help make it through the end of the month.