Woman tackles child hunger with heartfelt initiative in Ellis County
ENNIS – About one in five kids in Ellis County don't know where their next meal is coming from.
That includes small towns like Ennis, where one woman decided she needed to do something about the problem.
"It's in every town and it's in your own backyard," said Cara Castellow.
Today, she's bagging up more than lunches. Into every bag, she leaves a bit of her family legacy.
"My mom was in education for 47 years and she always had a heart for feeding kids," she said. "I can remember her coming home from school talking about this kid or that kid and couldn't believe they didn't have any food."
Her mom used to bag extra lunches to feed kids who didn't have anything to eat.
Now, Castellow and her army of volunteers are doing the same for Ennis schools.
"At the beginning of the school year, I think there were like 87 bags, and since then, we're now at 192 bags in that short amount of time for the kids that desperately need it," she said.
Like some kids at Alamo Middle School.
"There's no doubt that the students do come to us, and they are hungry, and they do tell us about their needs at home," said Alex Rendon, the principal at Alamo Middle School.
He says it becomes a serious issue when kids get hungry and don't have anything to eat.
"A lot of times, they're not able to talk with their words and control their emotions. A lot of times, they will disrupt and be more vocal than what they normally are," he said.
"The kids that don't have that ability to fight that hunger, it just breaks my heart," said Castellow.
That's why she fills bags of food every week, knowing that every sack holds more than just a meal but also compassion for everyone in her community.
"Will I ever meet these kids? Probably not. Will they know it's me and my volunteers? Probably not. But that's living a life of quiet, heroic significance," said Castellow.
Cara Caters is hosting a fundraiser tomorrow night in Ennis. Tickets are still on sale. If you want to attend the event or just find out how you can support the organization, you can visit CaraCaters.com.
