Pantry customer and Columbus resident Kelly Smith never pictured herself needing food assistance. Until injury and long-term illness changed her life, she always saw herself as the one who’d be there to help others.
“I cried all the time when I first came [to the pantry],” Kelly said. “I was always very responsible, very dependable. I’m someone who’s educated, who tried to do the correct things. I saw myself as someone who’d be on the other end of this.”
“It’s very hard for people to ask for help,” she added. “You don’t think it’s going to happen to you.”
Coming to peace with food assistance has been a long journey for Kelly. She’s recently become a regular at the food pantry run by Gethsemane Lutheran Church on Columbus’ north side. As a partner agency of Mid-Ohio Food Collective, the church pantry distributes kitchen staples and fresh produce every week.
For Kelly, it’s been a lifeline—and a reminder of how much things have changed. She speaks proudly of how she went to college, got good grades, and worked several well-paying jobs. She married her husband (known as “Bennie the Barber” to his many loyal customers) in 2005. The couple had a daughter, a small business, and a house on Columbus’ north side.
The Smiths belonged to their local Baptist church, and Kelly led missions in her free time. And while she lived with long-term mental health conditions, she said her symptoms were managed with treatment and medication. Business was steady at Bennie’s barbershop, and Kelly settled into a long-term job at a local university. Things weren’t always easy, but the family had hope.
“It’s not like I didn’t work hard,” Kelly said. “Life just brings you things. I never asked for all the troubles I had.”
Things began to change for the family in 2012. A workplace accident gave Kelly a severe concussion and a traumatic brain injury (TBI), ending her career and aggravating her long-term mental health symptoms. A few years later, Bennie was diagnosed with cancer. He passed in early 2022, leaving Kelly to care for their teenage daughter.
Since then, every month has been a struggle. Unable to work full time, Kelly applied for various public benefits to make ends meet. The long-term effects of her TBI qualified her for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and she receives survivor’s benefits from her late husband. Medicaid has helped cover her health care costs, and she’s used the pantry network to find food and school supplies for her daughter.
Housing has been her biggest hurdle. While she has applied for SNAP benefits, they have been hard to get due to the family’s multiple moves. Kelly and her daughter have down-sized twice in the past year and a half to afford rent, which is rising given Columbus’ fast pace of development. At one point between moves, Kelly slept out in the cold for a month so her daughter could stay inside with her grandparents.
“I was in a tent in my parents’ backyard because they didn’t have a lot of space. It got to be 30-something degrees outside,” Kelly said, shaking her head. “You don’t look at your life and future and think you’re going to do these things.”
The mother and daughter have settled into an apartment in north Columbus. Things are still difficult, but getting help with food has made a big difference, Kelly said. She said the volunteers at Gethsemane make her feel welcome. In addition, she’s become more open about accepting help. Far from crying when she shops, she now comes into the pantry in high spirits and encourages others in need to do the same.
“I don’t care who I tell now,” she said, smiling warmly. “You shouldn’t feel ashamed, and I don’t now. There should be no shame in asking for help. I finally feel more balanced. I’m finding a new path. I come here with a smile on my face now.”
