By Marcel Pacatte
Andrew Ford isn’t even officially an eighth grader yet, but he saw something that bothered him and set out to do something to help.
As a result, 196 children in Franklin had breakfast and lunch for a week. Then, 260 were served the following week.
Ford, of Franklin, has undertaken a community service project this summer for his FFA record book, which members keep and are judged on. The project will run weekly until school starts in August. Franklin’s FFA program was extended to junior high school students this spring, the ink barely dry on the charter.
Ford said he saw gasoline prices climbing and knew that groceries were getting more expensive and knew that that was putting a strain on families. He thought that if he could he would like to help families by giving them food to feed their children. He decided to make that his service project and started investigating.
He enlisted the help of his mother, Aleece Ford, and they found programs through the Illinois State Board of Education, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, an organization called Sun Meals one called the Ujima Hunger Coalition and now hundreds of children up to the age of 18 are eligible to register to receive the packages of food. There is no income requirement, only registration and Illinois residency. Each Tuesday, from 4:30 to 6 p.m., people who have signed up can drive through to receive their food. The Fords are looking for volunteers to help sort and load the food and keep the line moving, and they encourage families with children to register.
Andrew Ford said he is grateful to the sponsors who are providing the food and added that he also was pleased that Hy-Vee in Jacksonville has agreed to contribute items to augment the breakfast-and-lunch provisions. Those goodies come with the agreement to split them between the giveaway and food pantries, which Ford readily agreed to do.
To register, contact https://bit.ly/sun-meals-illinois — or, if you have questions, call or text Aleece Ford at 217-370-7015.
