Businesses band together to help feed children
Story by Carol Pappas
Photos by Michael Callahan
“On the count of three. One, two, three!,” beckoned Pell City Superintendent Michael Barber. Sixty young voices — in unison — rang out in an animated reply across the lunchroom of Walter M. Kennedy School.
“THANK YOU!,” they said, putting the perfect exclamation point on a good idea that has caught on across the school system.
The object of their gratitude stood in the front of the room, scarcely able to conceal their smiles. It was a group of business people who saw a need and filled it by filling the lunch plates of a school full of children — for free.
It’s a not-so-random act of kindness that plays out each week in schools throughout the school system. It’s lunch, courtesy of Town & Country Ford, Woods Surfside Marina, Tradesman Co., Robinson Law Firm and Metro Bank.
Doug Bailey, general manager of Town & Country, came up with the idea when he received an email about his own daughter’s lunch account being low. It sparked thoughts about the struggles of parents every day, trying to meet financial obligations that seemingly never end.
In turn, it became the catalyst for what Bailey called a “crazy idea” for his business to feed a school one day. The first month was in October. By November, five other businesses chipped in, and now the goal has become feeding one school one week each month en route to covering every elementary school twice per year.
Of course, if more businesses join the effort, the goal is within reach that much quicker.
“We want to support people who support us,” Bailey said of the program that helps parents with a financial obligation that really does make a difference.
Bailey said he took his inspiration of paying it forward from the late Curtis Capps, a successful businessman who was at the heart of scores of good works throughout the region. Capps had told him Pell City was a “community that takes care of its own.”
By the businesses feeding children in the school system for free, it takes that burden off of the parents. “Our families get a little reprieve at a time when there are so many demands on them financially,” Kennedy School Principal Dr. Leah Stover said. “These are hard-working families who take responsibility for their children. It really is a blessing.”
Charlie Robinson of the Robinson Law Firm couldn’t agree more. “It’s not about us. It’s about the kids and their families and giving back to a community that has been good to us. It hit home to me when I saw that a gallon of milk cost more than a gallon of gas. When parents are both working, they have bills and obligations that come along with family. That’s tough.”
Metro Bank’s vice president, Matthew Pope, talked of the relationship between good nutrition and learning. Children cannot focus when they are hungry.
“This gives them the opportunity to meet their fullest potential,” he said.
“The rewards of giving back have been so well received by the community,“ said Fred Casey of Tradesman. “We have received thank you notes from parents. I am thankful for the opportunity to give back to the community. It has just been a pleasure to us — phenomenal.”
Jerry Woods echoed the sentiment. “It is great to give back to our community,” he said. “These kids’ parents made my business the last nine years.”
“This is one of the most wonderful programs I’ve seen in my 28 years in the school business,” Barber said. “It is encouraging to see the community get behind these kids.” It forms a strong connection between business and schools. “It makes a difference. It’s good all the way around.”
Clean plates all around the lunchroom with smiles from adults and kids to match are a good indicator that Barber’s assessment is exactly right.
