Feeding Hays is a non-profit organization based at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church. The goal of the organization is to provide meals to those who either cannot afford or do not have the time to prepare a meal. They offer a free meal option, providing spaghetti dinners every week on Thursdays from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Feeding Hays also collects donations, not only to fund their food supplies, but also to help the students in USD 489 to pay for their school meals. Recently, a donation of $300 was sent to the district during the week of Sept. 10-16.

Feeding Hays is staffed by people in the Hays community, including members of St. Michael’s and students from Fort Hays State University. The group has gone from serving 20 to 40 meals a week to providing 103 meals as of Aug. 31. The group will be applying for grants as they continue to grow, making it possible for them to be able to provide even more people with the food they need.

“We’ve done a lot to improve the food we’re serving and to better advertise our times and location, and we’ve been able to fix some old issues that had held us back from growth,” St. Michael’s pastor Ben Houchen said. “But, even with all of that, I think word-of-mouth growth has been the key. People appreciate and need what we’re doing, and that creates growth.”

The organization has a Facebook page that you can visit for info about making food donations and for updates: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2047485065448690/.