Barren County raises money for summer feeding program for children

BOWLING GREEN Ky.-  The Barren County Reads and Feeds program serves meals to Barren County children under 18 years old. Over the past two summers, the program has provided over 69,000 meals to children in need. To raise funding and awareness for the 2019 program, organizers held a pancake breakfast Wednesday morning.

Bus driver and kitchen manager Angie Riddle said watching the participating children grow has touched her heart.

“I’ve been doing this program for about five years now, and it’s gotten bigger and bigger. It’s closer to home everyday. I get to know these kids. I’ve watched babies be babies and then grow up to be toddlers and they still know me by name as summers go through. It’s close to my heart. It’s near and dear,” Riddle said.

The pancake breakfast is held not only for donations, but also to make the public aware of food insecurity that many children face every day. Holly Stout with reads and feeds has personally witnessed the hunger struggles of children locally.

“It just brings the community in to let them see what it is that we get to experience on a day to day basis as far as summer goes. They get to see what the kids don’t get. They get to see how we see them in the community. That way, they can decide if they want to reach out to those kids so they can get that touch in their heart that we get,” Stout said.

For Stout this was not just a summer project. It was a chance to change the lives of kids who need it.

“Knowing that I’ve touched them. Knowing that i’ll be somebody that they remember. It’s something that I can say that i’ll always look back on and be grateful that i was offered this spot in a child’s life,” Stout said through tears.