A Toni’s Kitchen Guest Story: “Eve”

(NOTE: This is part of a series of stories focusing on how we work to improve the lives of our guests at Toni's Kitchen. To see previous "Toni's Guest Stories," please click here.)

"Eve" (not her real name) has been a guest of Toni's Kitchen since August 2022 when she first came to Choice Pantry. Eve lives by herself in Montclair. In addition to receiving groceries, she was a participant in the Food Health Hope program in 2022-2023, which focuses on controlling one's glucose, blood pressure and weight for those at risk or diagnosed with hypertension and/or pre-diabetes/diabetes. Eve credits this program with helping her get her levels within normal range, and she happily informed Toni's Guest Support Coordinator that she was no longer eligible when she was screened for the 2023-2024 program cycle.

Eve consistently has a positive demeanor when she visits Choice Pantry. When Toni's began registering its Choice Pantry guests as a way to better organize and manage services, Eve received a registration card. She was thrilled, saying "This is like my new driver's license! Thank you!"

Eve likes to give back to the community and has inquired about becoming an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher when she saw informational flyers on Choice Pantry's community resource tables about ESL classes being offered to Choice Pantry guests to learn English. Born and educated in Cuba, Eve is bilingual and is an art curator and dealer. Her curated exhibits extend around the United States and abroad including a recent showing at the Montclair Public Library.