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| Paul Latture used to have a successful career at a commercial bakery, but was laid off in 2011. |
Cakes, pies, donuts, cinnamon rolls. You name it and Paul
Latture would make it at his job in a commercial bakery. And he loved it.
“I mostly worked on making donuts, but when the mood struck,
the other bakers and I would experiment and make things for ourselves,” he
smiled, recalling one specific concoction. “Once, we put some butter, cinnamon
and apple slices on dough and made a pastry. It was delicious.”
Paul, 64, was laid off in 2011 after working at the bakery
for seven years. Now, he can only afford to live in a kitchen-less studio
apartment, so he no longer bakes. He hasn't been able to find a job, so he
applied for early retirement.
“I've probably filled out 15,000 applications, but nothing,”
he said. “I was planning on working well into my 70s.”
He struggles to live on his retirement check - only $604 per
month - and $189 per month in SNAP benefits. But once a week, Paul receives a
bag of fruit, vegetables, meat and nonperishable food from EZRA Multi-Service
Center, a Greater Chicago Food Depository member agency in Uptown.
“The cost of food, everything, is so high,” he said.
“Without EZRA, it would be very, very hard to make it.”
In addition to the bags of food, Paul participates in a
monthly cooking program at EZRA, giving him the opportunity to bake again. He
also works the Link machine at a nearby farmer’s market, which enables SNAP
recipients to purchase produce from the market.
“I really just want to try to help if I can,” he said.
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