Every Tuesday, Frances can be found at Haynie Chapel Food Pantry at 9:00 A.M. She arrives an hour before the distribution to organize the food ready for distribution.
Volunteering with the chapel is a weekly service she continues even after her sister, who was a member, passed away. Frances will first serve the many clients who walk through the pantry, although she is also a client and needs food assistance, too.
“I just like helping them out, because they help me,” Frances said.
Frances first came to the chapel 10 years ago following a mass layoff at Motorola, where Frances worked in the semiconductor industry for 15 years. Her late sister brought her to the church and gave her a job at the family taco restaurant.
“I started working with my sister and helped run the family business to get back on my feet,” Frances said.
Business was booming up until the facility burned down in 2011 when the ceiling collapsed over the water heater.
The family has hopes of rebuilding the establishment, but has been short of the money they need to bring the business.
“We’re trying, but it takes a lot of money to meet the City of Austin code,” Frances said.
Frances has taken odd jobs around the city mowing lawns and cleaning houses to save extra money for the restaurant. Food assistance from Haynie Chapel Food Pantry also frees up money she normally would have spent on groceries toward rebuilding her family dream.
“The Food Pantry is helping me get to where I want to be,” Frances said.
Read more stories from our StoryMap
