By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
St. Joseph Food for Kids is expanding its services to not only provide food for children, but also provide beds.
Shelia Gilbert began Food for Kids with her late husband. She says for them, it all began with a picnic the two of them were having in their truck.
"And out of nowhere some children walked up," Gilbert tells KFEQ Hotline host Barry Birr. "I'm like where did these kids come from, because there was no one around."
Gilbert says there were about five siblings in front of them, when one approached the truck while they were eating lunch
"She said we hungry and I looked at my husband and said I can't give these babies this food I don't even know them," Gilbert says. "He said Well just give the baby a banana and I said (to the girl) can I give you a banana and she said yes."
Gilbert says after the children finished the banana, they kept coming back, until finally she and her husband both gave them their sandwiches.
"When I saw the oldest kid break that sandwich up, I just bawled, it was overwhelming," Gilbert says. "And I said we have to do something, there's no reason why these children in this community should be hungry."
Gilbert and her husband would go on to start Food for Kids in 2008.
Gilbert says that there is no reason kids in this community should be hungry, and while she knows there is an open-door food kitchen in St. Joseph. . .
"Children cannot go in there without being accompanied by an adult and when they go in there they eat and they leave and they don't want to babysit their kids so you don't see many children at the Open-Door Food Kitchen," Gilbert explains. "But we just went to a couple of the churches that we know and asked them could we just fix a couple lunches outside on the property, and most of them told us no."
Gilbert says the one church that told them they could set up in the backyard was the Church of God and Christ, and she said day after day kids would come to get fed.
Now For for Kids is expanding its charity, by providing Beds for Kids.
Gilbert is looking to give out 75 twin beds and 25 full beds by June 1st.
You can find more information at stjoefoodforkids.com or by clicking HERE.