A West Lincoln woman is providing a place of fellowship and a hot meal for children in her community.

Teresa Fairman started feeding children in her area at the beginning of June. Kids in the Siloam community can eat lunch in her yard every Tuesday through July at no charge.

“I like doing it,” Fairman said. “They just come and enjoy themselves.”

Fairman has fed an average of 20 children each week during the program. Starting at noon each Tuesday, children ranging from 2 to 17 come together under the trees at her West Lincoln home to enjoy a hot meal and good conversation. So far she’s served kid-favorites like chili dogs with chips and popsicles, chicken strips with macaroni and cheese and peach cobbler and ravioli casserole with sweet corn and ice cream.

She wanted to do something for the kids in her community during the summer months. Fairman said many of the kids don’t have a way to get around other than walking, and so this gives them something different.

“I just thought to myself, ‘What better way than to feed them?’” Fairman said.

Fairman started the project with more heart than money, but recently received some donations to help the cause.

“It helps a lot,” Fairman said.

It is also a one-woman operation, with Fairman cooking all of the food herself. After the success she has seen so far with the program, Fairman says plans to do it again soon.

Her favorite thing is to watch the kids get together, laugh and talk with each other.

Fairman doesn’t ask about income or family situation. She doesn’t question why a child comes to eat. She just knows that while they’re in her yard eating a hot meal, they’re interacting with her and the other children. If it’s also keeping a child from being hungry, that’s a blessing, too.

“You don’t know if this is the child’s only meal,” Fairman said. “Other people care, too.”

Story by Gracie Byrne