Matthew got robbed and needs help paying for food!

I got robbed!

Someone recently skimmed my info and stole over $850 worth of food stamps from me, and I need help getting enough food to eat. I was able to get a lot of it replaced, but not all of it, and I still have to buy food by the time everything gets replaced. The amount I'm asking for is the difference that I can't get reimbursed.

I've been struggling with money and paying for basic essentials for a while now, since the tech industry has been collapsing so much in the past couple years, and it's been really hard for me to get consistent, stable work. Paying for even basic essentials has been a struggle for me for a long time; whenever I get hungry, my first reaction is always can I afford to eat right now? And the possibility of the answer being "no" generates a fear reaction for me. I go hungry multiple times a week, and it's been like that for several months now. Since I got robbed, I've been training my body to try to go as long as possible without needing food. Lately I haven't been eating anything until 4:00-5:00 most days. Hunger has become a default, painful setting for me, and I shouldn't have to live like that. Nobody should.

It's very uncomfortable for me to ask anyone for anything, let alone for money, so know that this isn't easy for me, and I'm only doing it because things are getting dire. Seriously, it took me a couple weeks to psych myself up enough to do this.

In the case that I raise more than the target amount, I will be incredibly grateful, and having that extra cushion will definitely ease my mind. When you live paycheck to paycheck, you're always one setback away from disaster, so having a safety net however small will definitely give me peace of mind. And when I reach financial stability and start making engineering money again, I will gladly pay it forward to the next people who need it in the way that I do now.

Thank you very much to anyone who donates. It truly means a lot to me, and is something I will remember.