Organization
What started as a desire to feed a few children, has now grown to feeding over 6,000 children one hot meal per day during the summer months. Additionally our feeding program focuses on feeding kids during other times they are out of school such as the spring and winter school breaks. Since 2011 Miss Willa Johnson a/k/a “The Food Lady” has used the donations and sometimes her own resources to feed children. When public schools closed in 2020 due to COVID-19 the need for meals became even greater. It is estimated that in 2020 Feeding Kids Right provided more than 100,000 meals to children in need. Ms. Johnson is proof positive that all you need is a desire and a great big heart to transform a community, oh and a little “sugar, butter and love”.
Willa Johnson
Willa Johnson is the owner of Soul Kitchen, a catering service located in Athens, Texas. It was through her business that she became aware of the children in Athens, Texas who needed help. The “Food Lady” as her kids call her lives in Fort Worth, Texas. Miss Johnson grew up in a single family home. Her father died when she was three years old, and her mom worked full time as a nurse in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Once she became older, Willa would go to the local community center where they would eat lunch while her mother was at work. The community center did not have a great deal of funding, so lunch sometimes included old food. Willa made herself a promise, that if she ever had the opportunity to care for children she would not feed children food that was spoiled. It was a promise that she would have to make good on in 2011.
Growing up in a single-parent home, depending on the help from community centers, and living in low income areas empowered Miss Willa to be driven by compassion based on what she learned growing up. Miss Willa worked in the child care industry for 25 years prior to launching out in faith with Feeding Kids Right. When she saw the plight of children of Athens not being able to have at least one hot meal a day compassion and her own background moved her into action. She had already opened Soul Food Kitchen, which was her catering and food delivery service. Cooking for the kids of Athens just seemed like a natural extension of that business. She began taking donations, and when donations were not enough she used her own resources. She closed her kitchen down in the summer and every day gets to work feeding her kids in Athens. In March of 2020 when the schools closed to COVID-19, Miss Will knew that Feeding Kids would have to step up and provide more meals. She did not even flinch, but spurned into action. Through the donations of businesses and individuals, Feeding Kids Right was able to provide approximately 50,000 hot meals, once a day.
Miss Willa credits the success of Feeding Kids to:
For more information on Feeding Kids Right and Willa Johnson, watch this video:
Growing up in a single-parent home, depending on the help from community centers, and living in low income areas empowered Miss Willa to be driven by compassion based on what she learned growing up. Miss Willa worked in the child care industry for 25 years prior to launching out in faith with Feeding Kids Right. When she saw the plight of children of Athens not being able to have at least one hot meal a day compassion and her own background moved her into action. She had already opened Soul Food Kitchen, which was her catering and food delivery service. Cooking for the kids of Athens just seemed like a natural extension of that business. She began taking donations, and when donations were not enough she used her own resources. She closed her kitchen down in the summer and every day gets to work feeding her kids in Athens. In March of 2020 when the schools closed to COVID-19, Miss Will knew that Feeding Kids would have to step up and provide more meals. She did not even flinch, but spurned into action. Through the donations of businesses and individuals, Feeding Kids Right was able to provide approximately 50,000 hot meals, once a day.
Miss Willa credits the success of Feeding Kids to:
- God, and the courage he gave her to step out in faith
- Her perseverance to make a difference in a small East Texas town
- Knowing that God loves these kids more than she could, and she can trust Him to take care of them, even when she does not see a way for it to happen.
For more information on Feeding Kids Right and Willa Johnson, watch this video:
Athens, Texas
Athens, Texas is one of the 21 small cities and town within Henderson County, Texas. According to the 2019 census, the percentage of the population under the age of 18 living in poverty in Athens is 27.3% (2019 Census). The overall teen birth rate in Henderson County is 40.87% (Teen Birth Data, 2017). Teenagers under the age of 20 in Athens represent 10% of that population.
Obviously the pandemic created an even greater need to feed children as the organization has witnessed since its inception. As previously stated, addressing hunger is just the tip of the iceberg. Addressing closing the gaps in education, teen pregnancy, and address ways to lower the poverty rate in Athens will be key in the coming years to help young people grow to not only find their purpose but hopefully be part of the next generation which will bring transformation to Athens and the surrounding areas.
There is more work to be done in other small cities and towns, we cannot do it alone. Learn how you can be a part of partnering with us through volunteering or financially supporting the feeding program.
Obviously the pandemic created an even greater need to feed children as the organization has witnessed since its inception. As previously stated, addressing hunger is just the tip of the iceberg. Addressing closing the gaps in education, teen pregnancy, and address ways to lower the poverty rate in Athens will be key in the coming years to help young people grow to not only find their purpose but hopefully be part of the next generation which will bring transformation to Athens and the surrounding areas.
There is more work to be done in other small cities and towns, we cannot do it alone. Learn how you can be a part of partnering with us through volunteering or financially supporting the feeding program.