After nine years of infertility and pregnancy losses, Alicia Dougherty turned to cooking — specifically Rachael's "30-Minute Meals" — to find focus and push through the pain.
Soon enough, she was cooking delicious meals for her husband Josh ("he's very thankful!") — and her growing family, because as soon as she and Josh decided to become parents via adoption, they found out they were also pregnant with their first daughter.
And they didn't stop there! Over the course of a decade, the couple welcomed eight more children into their lives, both via pregnancy and adoption, for a grand total of 10 kids (hence the "Dougherty Dozen") — some of which, she says, had serious "food issues."
Luckily, she knew her love of cooking could help. "My connection to food grew as our family grew," says Alicia. "These children who entered our home with fetal alcohol syndrome and severe neglect as infants had a lot of food issues, and they were really stressed about food. That's when I realized I could turn the script around for them and make food fun."
She wanted them to know that when it comes to food, "It's always available here [at home]." And our friends at Lundberg Family Farms wanted to help with that — by offering Alicia $5,000 to help cover her weekly grocery costs.
And her reaction? Speechless! Watch in the video above.