Abby Connolly
A family in Ohio purchased an ice cream truck during the summer of 2020. Although they drive up and down their neighborhood with that classic ice cream truck music playing, it’s not just any kind of ice cream truck.
The Watson family is not only giving away free ice cream to people in their community of Frazeysburg, Ohio but also free hot lunches to the local kids who need them.
Jason Watson, the father of the Watson family, is a Frazeysburg native. In an interview with GoFundMe Heroes, he described the town as a “close-knit community where people step up and help one another.”
Although the town may be close-knit and caring, many of the residents are living under difficult circumstances.
According to 2020 U.S. Census data, the poverty rate in Frazeysburg is 5% higher than in the rest of the United States.
When Jason moved back to Frazeysburg after college with his wife Anne and their three children to work as a gym teacher, he noticed many kids in the area were extremely dependent on school-provided meals, as they may not have enough to eat at home.
First, Jason started a community-powered food pantry to help feed local residents. But when COVID-19 hit and schools closed, the Watsons knew that they needed a way to get the children fed while they were out of school. That’s when they bought the ice cream truck.
“When the kids hear the music, they come out running,” Jason told GoFundMe Heroes. “We have hot lunches and ice cream—we want to bless them with good stuff.”
GoFundMe; pictured above is the Watson family with their ice cream truck
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