Woman at mobile home park ensures tenants have food as she remembers what it feels like to be hungry

Pat Blake, who manages two mobile home communities in Utah, noticed some children were sleeping hungry after their parents came to ask for food assistance. Blake had known hunger as one of the seven siblings raised by a single mother. For this reason, Blake decided to spend some of her money and collect jars of peanut butter, cans of soup, and bread at the grocery store. Then she asked the residents to come to her office and help themselves, reported The Washington Post. 

“It doesn’t matter whether a child lives in a mobile home or in a fancy apartment — they all deserve to be fed,” she said, adding there are 120 families in one community and 45 in another at the mobile home parks in Davis County. “A lot of them are scraping by, and I did not want them to go without,” she said. With the increase in rent and expenses, many mobile home communities in recent years and families find it difficult to make ends meet. “I started bringing food in for people, just a little at a time,” said Blake, who has managed two parks in the last few years. “And then I realized that I had a huge room behind my office that wasn’t being used, and I could do more.”

Blake is 79 years old. She lives in a mobile home in Apple Acres, one of the communities that she manages. Soon, she asked a friend to put some shelves in the large room at the second mobile home park, Willow Pines, so that she could turn it into a pantry. She then reached out to the Bountiful Food Pantry, which collects donated food and distributes it throughout Davis County, including in Fruit Heights City, where Blake lives. They started to come twice a month to give groceries to the residents.

Almost three years later, in 2023, the residents have enough to eat. “Whatever they need, I try to get it done, no questions asked,” Blake said. “If we need anything at all, we know we can get it from Pat,” Willow Pines resident Scott Beal said.

Linda Wilson lives at Willow Pines and is among those who have felt the brunt of rising prices. “Groceries for five people adds up, so Pat’s pantry has helped a great deal,” Wilson said, noting that her grandchildren especially love to bring delicious foods home. “I’ve lived in several mobile home parks over the years, and I’ve never run across a manager like Pat,” she said. “She helped me with some rental assistance, and she takes the time to get to know every resident here and what their needs are.”

“It was a little hard sometimes to make ends meet,” said Urquizo, 29. “Now we can go to Pat’s office, and she gives us what we need to get us through. Milk, eggs, snacks for the kids — she has it all.” “She worries about all of us and is always asking, ‘Are you okay?’ Is there anything you need?’” Urquizo said. “Needing groceries is nothing to be ashamed of,” said Blake. “We could all use a boost sometimes. These families need someone, and I’m happy that I can be that person to help.”

Truly, Blake's story inspires us all to be better people!