PORT ARTHUR —
The smell of home cooking permeates the air at Jireh World Church and the kids attending the summer food program know what’s in store, a great meal and some good times.
Pearlanna Carron has reignited the Port Arthur Summer Food Program with Triangle Community Outreach and Jireh World Church and Outreach Ministries. The program is currently held at the church at 3505 Procter in Port Arthur.
They offer children up to the age of 18 a meal for breakfast and lunch regardless of income and hope to soon expand to several housing centers to better feed children who do not have a way to get to the church.
On Friday, there were already more than 30 children, mouths watering, lining up to grab a bite to grab a hamburger fresh from the cooks, also Carron’s sisters. After choosing their favorite toppings and sitting down to lunch, energetic sounds of youth decreased as bite after bite of the juicy burgers took the place of words.
Jeremiah Lyons, Ashley Dixon and Kennedy Lyons say they’ve enjoyed meals of spaghetti, grilled chicken, quesadillas, red beans and rice and a summertime favorite, hot dogs.
And this isn’t your typical mass-produced cafeteria food.
“It’s really good,” said Jeremiah Lyons.
Not only is there great food but the opportunity to hang out and play some games is there as well. Some children who show up for breakfast stay for the lunch meal.
“We’ve made new friends and some of them we already knew, so that’s cool,” said Dixon.
Carron also ran the food program during the summer of 2008, during which they fed more than 75 children a day.
However, this isn’t the first venture into community care and outreach for Carron, it’s in her blood, engrained into her from an early age. Her mother, Exie Simon, was a nationally-recognized humanitarian and founded three organizations dedicated to taking care of the needy, all while fighting two bouts with cancer and raising 16 children and stepchildren. One organization, the Triangle Soup Kitchen, fed more than 150 people five days a week, often seeing lines appear well before the kitchen opened its doors. Carron worked alongside her seven sisters in the soup kitchen doing what was needed to make sure no one went hungry or wanting.
Before her death, Simon passed the ladle of charity to her son-in-law Simon Carron, giving to him the cooking supplies used while preparing meals for the needy of Port Arthur.
However, following Hurricane Rita in 2005 the building was irreparably damaged and vandals broke into the kitchen, taking with them the equipment used to prepare meals for the needy of Port Arthur. With a lack of insurance and funding they were forced to close the kitchen. But the thieves could not steal the love and passion of helping those less fortunate, leading Triangle Community Outreach to find a home at Jireh World Church and create the summer food program.
“I think it’s part of our legacy. I know there are children during the summertime that aren’t being adequately fed,” said Carron. “We’re just doing what we can to pass it on.”
Helping her with the program are her sisters Erica Broussard, Earthelle Paul-Branch, Adrea Jackson and Vivian Ballou. She also has help from several dedicated volunteers such as Brenda Simmons, Sonja James and Nikkiel McMillian.
Port Arthur ISD offers a similar program available at summer school locations. According to 2011-12 Texas Education Agency statistics 81 percent of PAISD students are eligible for free meals and five percent more for meals with reduced pricing.
The program is open to any organization, community or location with a place to gather and serve food. The only thing required is a quick over-the -phone application process. They will also travel to Vacation Bible Schools, said Carron.
The program serves breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The meals are served at Jireh World Church and Outreach Ministries and will be expanding to several community centers in Port Arthur. For additional information, call Pearlanna Carron at (409) 332-8877.
Top Stories
Related Photos
-
Children line up to wash their hands before eating lunch at Jireh World Church and Outreach Ministries in Port Arthur on Friday. Morgan Jones
Discussion
Exie Simon’s daughter continues feeding PA
- Top Stories
-
-
SE Texans can help with tornado relief
While rescue crews sift through miles of rubble left by Monday’s monstrous tornado in search of survivors, local organizations are preparing to send both volunteers and supplies to assist the crippled area.
• Go to www.redcross.org to donate
-
Kree, Candice bring soul to 'Idol' finale
Woodville native and Southeast Texas sweetheart Kree Harrison may already be a local hero, the 22-year-old battled to be America's Idol against fellow Southerner Candice Glover from South Carolina Wednesday night.
-
Southeast Texas rallies around ‘Idol’
Kree Harrison will take the stage at 7 p.m. Wednesday for the title of "American Idol" on FOX. Make sure to vote!
-
Angelina Jolie gets double masectomy
Angelina Jolie says that she has had a preventive double mastectomy after learning she carried a gene that made it extremely likely she would get breast cancer.
-
High-tech pushes for more in immigration bill
-
Philly abortion doctor guilty in 3 babies’ deaths
An abortion doctor was convicted Monday of first-degree murder and could face execution in the deaths of three babies who were delivered alive and then killed with scissors at his grimy, “house of horrors” clinic.
-
Local project cleaning air, boosting oil production
-
Texas launches criminal probe into plant explosion
Texas law enforcement officials on Friday launched a criminal investigation into the massive fertilizer plant explosion that killed 14 people last month, after weeks of largely treating the blast as an industrial accident.
-
Granger sentenced to death in courthouse shooting
After disrupting his capital murder trial several times with profanity-filled outbursts, a Texas man erupted in one final chaotic fit when a jury sentenced him to death on Tuesday for killing a bystander while trying to shoot his daughter outside a courthouse.
Bartholomew Granger’s courtroom rants against his daughter, prosecutors and the judge had intensified since he was convicted last week of capital murder in the death of 79-year-old Minnie Ray Sebolt, who was walking outside the courthouse in Beaumont when she was shot in March 2012. -
BREAKING NEWS: Gas line rupture in Nederland has been fixed
A 4-inch gas line in Nederland was ruptured near 12th and Atlanta at around 9:24 a.m. Tuesday. Texas Gas Company associates are on scene and have managed to shut down the leak. Nederland Fire Department is on hand as a precaution in case the gas is ignited.
Streets around the area are being blocked as a precaution.
Check back as more information becomes available. - More Top Stories Headlines
-
Raw: Trucker Bumps I-5 Bridge Before Collapse
Raw: Texas Deputy Shot by Colo. Suspect Honored
Major Detours Following Wash. Bridge Collapse
American Held in Grisly Czech Murders
Raw: Jersey Shore Reopens for Summer
UK-bound Pakistan Plane Diverted, 2 Men Arrested
Officials: Tsarnaev Friend Linked to Slaying
Obama:Sexual Assault Threatens Trust in Military
Bridge Collapse Survivor: 'Rough Day'
Jersey Shore Open for Business
Raw: Memorial Day Flags Placed at Arlington
New Wheelchair Lift Promises More Access
First Person: Mom Discusses Famous Tornado Photo
Raw Video: Washington State Bridge Collapse
Boy Scouts Approve Plan to Accept Gay Boys
