When people picture food insecurity, they often imagine a single image: a struggling parent, an empty pantry, a family in crisis. But after years of working alongside children and families in Citrus County, I can tell you the reality is far more complex.
Food insecurity doesn’t have one face. It has many.
One of those faces belongs to grandparents — and even great-grandparents — who are stepping in to raise their grandchildren, often on fixed incomes, long after they expected their child-rearing years to be over.
Recently, a student in our program answered a short survey we sent towards the end of the school year to help us improve our program and better understand its impact. When asked why Blessings was important, the child wrote:
“Because my grandma doesn’t get a lot of money anymore.”
When asked how they feel when they receive their Blessings bags, the response was simple and direct:
“Happy because then I know I have food.”
There’s no dramatization there. No exaggeration. Just truth — written in a child’s handwriting.
Grandparents on the Front Lines
Across Citrus County, many grandparents are quietly holding families together. Some have stepped in because of illness, loss, addiction, or economic hardship affecting the child’s parents. Others are doing it because there was simply no other option.
These caregivers are often living on Social Security or limited retirement income. They budget carefully. They stretch meals. They sacrifice for doctor visits, school supplies, and utility bills. And when prices rise — groceries, gas, everything — the margin disappears quickly.
What makes food insecurity in these households particularly hard to spot is the fact that these caregivers are responsible and resilient. They don’t complain. They don’t always ask for help. And they may not see themselves as “the face of hunger.”
But the children see it.
Food Insecurity Is Not One-Size-Fits-All
Food insecurity looks different in every home.
- It can look like a great-grandmother skipping meals so her grandchild doesn’t have to.
- It can look like a child riding their bike back to school because forgetting their food bag means a weekend of uncertainty.
- It can look like families who are doing “everything right” and still coming up short.
During the holiday season, this reality becomes even more pronounced. While many families celebrate with full tables and leftovers, others face longer school breaks — and longer stretches without reliable meals.
For children living with grandparents on a limited income, those breaks can feel especially long.
Why Awareness Matters
Programs like Citrus County Blessings exist because food insecurity often hides in plain sight. It’s not always loud. It’s not always visible. And it’s rarely what people expect.
The child who wrote about their grandmother didn’t ask for sympathy. They didn’t complain. They simply explained their world.
As a community, we owe it to them — and to the grandparents and great-grandparents doing their best every single day — to understand that hunger doesn’t look the same in every household.
This December, as we reflect on gratitude and generosity, I encourage our community to look beyond assumptions and see the many faces of food insecurity. Some of them are young. Some of them are elderly. And many of them are doing everything they can with what little they have.
Sometimes, the most powerful stories are written in pencil — and they remind us exactly why this work matters.