Missouri mother provides more than 100 lunches a day to local children

Mother makes neighborhood kids school lunches — Photo courtesy of Bailey Torres lt for unsplash

A Missouri mother is out here sprinkling her #BlackGirlMagic all over local kids by paying it forward in the best way.

Champale Anderson, of North St. Louis, has been feeding children living in poverty in her neighborhood for five years, KTVI-TV reports.

The mother of six has made it her mission to fill the bellies of hungry students on school days. She has an open-door policy before or after school, providing the youth with a snack for breakfast or lunch.

“They get off the bus and they take off running,” Anderson told the TV station. “Because they never know what I will have in the bag. I switch it up. Sometimes I give them special treats for my special babies.”

Her bags are usually filled with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cookies, fruit, vegetables, juice and various snacks. There’s even a sign outside her home promoting the free goodies. The sign reads: “Champ’s Teardrops. Free snacks anytime and donations welcome.”

“I was noticing how the kids, they would always be hungry,” Anderson said. “It makes me proud and I want to keep it going. My goal is to go to different neighborhoods and give out bags.”

She typically prepares about 100 lunch bags a day for the children, but sometimes there’s an unexpected need for a few more.

“I do 100 bags every day, sometimes a little more for the kids that’s coming extra. Their parents bring them over here to get the bags and I’m going to start doing extra bags now, maybe about 150,” Anderson said.

Anderson says she lives by the words of Mother Teresa: “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”

She also has a GoFundMe page for anyone interested in spreading the loving by donating to her cause.