St. Louis, MO (KMOX) – There’s a sturdy wood table on the sidewalk outside a white two-story home in the city’s north side Penrose neighborhood. That table is for lunches. It’s Champale Anderson’s home, headquarters for Champ’s Teardrops. “The teardrops stand for the sadness in the situation,” explains Champale.
She explains her kids’ friends would come spend the night, and complain of hunger. “And we don’t realize what most kids go into when they go home. You know, bad situations, abuse, all that. And it’s a real problem with hunger.”
Her yard and home are well kept. Steps painted a brick red from sidewalk to cozy porch, to match her home’s roof. But next door, there’s a building with broken out windows. And overgrown grass is overtaking the other sidewalks around the block. Inside the homes in her neighborhood, there’s grave need — empty refrigerators and pantries. “You know, a lot of parents are on drugs, you know, and they’re in bad situations. I asked God, I’m like, this is not for me. What’s the plan? And He gave this idea to me, but I didn’t even, you know, pursue it until like two months later. And He said, today’s the day. I had $7. And I took it to Aldi’s and bought a pack of cookies and a pack of bologna and some bread.” She made 10 bags that day. By the end of the week, 50. And now she made several hundred peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the bags she packs.
Megan: How much do you think you spend a week on, I mean, just bread alone is expensive.
Champale: Yes. Well, I’m figuring maybe 400 a week that I don’t have. But I have supporters that they send me supplies. They send me gift cards and stuff like that to help out. I’ve encountered a lot of good people doing this here.…