Why some middle-class families say they don’t feel very middle-class [Video]

Things are busy at a Northern Virginia food pantry.

“The food at John’s is available to anybody in the community,” said Stepping with Leaders founder Januari Coates.

Coates showed Scripps News’ Amber Strong some of the necessities her nonprofit stocks for families, which includes more than food, but toiletries, too.

She says the pantry serves a variety of people: the elderly, the disabled and even middle-class families making between $50,000-$120,000 a year.

“Because in Northern Virginia, you’re not paying no less than like $1900 a month for your place. So by the time you add in food cost between the two, you’re already out like $3,500 to $4,500,” she explained.

Olivia Simmons is a public school employee who says she always puts her students first, even when she doesn’t have money to spare.

“A lot of these kids, they know me. They’re always like, ‘Miss Simmons, do you have a snack? Do you have something to drink?'” she told Scripps News.

At home she’s a …