ST. LOUIS — Day in and day out for the past five years, a woman in north city has been giving out free meals to children.
Champale Anderson has six children of her own. After seeing many of their friends hungry, she saw there was a need in the community.
Five years ago, she started with just 25 bags. Filling all of them with meals. Each and every one was stuffed with love.
Since then, she's increased that numbers to over 100 lunches every single day, even through the summer.
"I knew I had a purpose and this was it," Anderson said.
The meals, drinks, and snacks are right outside of her home.
It was her love for children that was the secret ingredient. Even when times were tough, she kept feeding mouths.
"Everyday was a struggle. I have my own problems, my own bills, but the good Lord provided it for me. Sometimes I wouldn’t know where I would get the bread from and somebody would knock on the door and give me three loaves," she said.
It's that love that keeps her going.
"I give it with love if I'm handing to them, I talk to them, I smile at them they smile at me," she said.
After getting national attention, Anderson saw some new guests at her door Monday, extending that support right back.
It was Save-A-Lot giving a year supply of groceries.
"She is clearly the absolute epitome of community and giving back, so we wanted to find a way to support her," Sarah Griffin from Save-A-Lot said.
Anderson said she hopes to continue handing out her love for more years to come.
"I want to make a change, and I'm going to make a change," Anderson said.
Anderson said she wants to put more tables across St. Louis.
With all of these donations, she plans to make 1,000 meals a day. Her ultimate goal? Creating a recreational center in the area.
There's been a GoFundMe set up. The original goal of $1,500 has been dwarfed by the more than $60,000 donated so far.
If you'd like to donate, click here.
More local news:
