‘The Morning Show’ Star Karen Pittman Reveals Her Shocking Struggle With Food Insecurity

“The Morning Show” star Karen Pittman is opening up about a tough period during her early acting career when she struggled with food insecurity. Now, she’s using her experience to give back to her community.

Pittman recently shared her story in a new interview with PEOPLE, explaining how hard it was to keep food on the table while she was between gigs in 2013. Newly single, working as an off-Broadway actor in New York City and raising two children, Pittman had to make sacrifices to ensure her kids were fed. But that often meant she would go without or get by on leftover scraps.

“I remember being a mother who was really troubled by it, but I hid it very well,” she explained. “I was mostly sipping coffee [for myself] through the day, and then I had enough food to feed my children.”

Related: ‘The Morning Show’s’ Karen Pittman Makes Surprising Admission About Her History With SNAP

Once her kids were asleep, Pittman shared that she’d regularly “finish the food on their plates” so she could eat. However, after so many months of doing that, she finally “came to the realization that she was doing harm by not taking care of myself.” This ultimately led her to seek help from her local food pantry, where she could walk away with enough food for herself and her children.

“I think we’re conditioned as women to sacrifice ourselves for our families, for our children,” Pittman said, reflecting on the moment. “It was my moral responsibility to take care of [my kids]. And was I really doing that by not taking care of myself? It was that introspection that led me to make a change.”

Over a decade later, Pittman now spends some of her free time volunteering at Feeding America food pantries and uses her platform to raise awareness of hunger and food insecurity issues in the United States.

“I get so much from volunteering. So much from going and being a part of a group of people who are standing in the gap and saying, ‘You’re not alone,’” she said. “I am a perfect example of how it can make a difference in your life.”