A child-like faith to feed hundreds

Searching for a way to make a difference, two young girls took the final steps on their journey to donate over 400 pounds of ground beef.

Sisters Paisley and Lola McCarroll’s latest project was a labor of love—and two years in the making. Both were involved with First Place Food Pantry, located in Troy, and through their hours volunteering, began to understand the needs of the community. Together, they decided what they wanted to do more.

Watching their parents and grandparents raise cattle to sell for freezer beef, the two sisters birthed a business idea of their own. “We want to buy a cow for the pantry ourselves,” the sisters requested. The girl’s parents brainstormed ideas alongside of the girls to assist them in the independence of serving their community with pride. Purchasing a bovine is costly alone, but then adding the powdered milk, grain, and hay really adds up. Cleaning the pen and maintaining daily care for two years would be a huge undertaking. However, the determined girls pushed forward with a plan.

Starting out Small

For their initial fundraising effort, the girls made mustard seed necklaces. When the clear glass globe pendants with a mustard seed inside, were dry and ready to sell, their mom helped by using social media to advertise. Not wanting her daughters to be disappointed, she reminded them that if they didn’t sell they would work out another plan. Lola confidently told her mom, “have faith.” They successfully sold their first batch and continued to make more and sell for months.

They made a great profit, but it fell a bit short to make the calf purchase. However, they were able to buy several lambs. Newborn lambs required around-the-clock bottle feedings. Setting alarms to mix warm milk and go to the barn throughout the night – and in February, no less – was a commitment the girls were proud to make. By September, the lambs were sold, and with the proceeds, the sisters bought a two-day-old calf and a 50 lb. bag of powdered milk.

Faith Comes Home

The new little guy was immediately named Faith. From mustard seed to moo, the journey had seemed long already, but was just getting started. The girls took turns bottle feeding Faith two-quart-sized bottles, twice a day, for about three months. At one point, Faith got pretty sick. Through time, care, and, of course, faith, he was restored to good health. Faith lived out his days enjoying fresh green grass and the love of a family.

Recently, two years after adopting faith, Lola McCarroll stood inside a heavy-duty freezer at the First Place pantry and worked diligently, stacking up one- and two-pound packages of ground beef. Nearby, her sister Paisley unloaded the frozen beef from several large coolers and handed it over to her sister. While others watched, the two young girls worked to unload the 424 pounds of ground beef that came as a result of their two-year journey of purchasing and raising their own cow. The ground beef was moved into the freezer owned by the First Place Food Pantry, located in Troy.

When a reporter asked them if it was difficult to say goodbye to an animal they had raised practically from birth, Paisley said “no, not really, we knew he had a special purpose.” In addition to Faith, the family raises cows, sheep and chickens. “Not all of the cows have names,” added Lola. Caven’s Butcher Shop donated a portion of the processing expenses, knowing the great need of the community. The pantry board opted for the beef to all be ground into hamburger as it’s an easier type of product that can be distributed by First Place and reach more patrons.

Bring Your Gloves

Paisley and Lola love to work at the pantry. They have been helping at the pantry for almost four years, picking up more of the process with each visit. Donna Wilkerson, pantry employee, saves special jobs for the girls. They always take gloves along, just in case. “Since I’m the right size, Donna puts me in the freezer to help put things away or get things out.” Lola said as she showed off her gloves. The girls have learned a lot about the food items that go in and out of the pantry and the basic needs of their community.

“Donna has been a part of teaching our girls compassion for serving their Miami County neighbors,” Ashley McCarroll, the girls’ mother, said recently. “They love their time with her and the pantry.” The girls’ parents also expressed a special thanks for the opportunity the pantry has given their children to help bring the project to completion.

Food Pantry in Need

Susan Buse, the operations director of First Place, mentioned that the meat will help feed at least 200 people and that it would probably last at least a week. First Place Food Pantry in Troy, Ohio has been supplying food and personal care items to residents of Miami County experiencing food insecurity for the past 21 years. This year brings new challenges. “The impact of inflation has increased our numbers, and various shortages of food at Feeding America warehouses have impacted our supplies.”

They often need to purchase food directly from the grocery store to keep their shelves stocked. Many individuals and community partnerships also help. With support from many, First Place has distributed 375,000 pounds of food and personal care items. They have served 5,260 Households and 15,261 individuals, and over 13,000 pounds has been shared with other area non-profits in Miami County. Their goal is to put everything they receive to the very best use.

Sad but Proud

“We were a little sad,” Paisley added after the freezer was loaded with the nearly 400 packages of frozen ground beef. “But we know that this is going to help out a lot of people.” The girls invited their grandparents along to watch them fill the freezer. It was a family effort over the two year process, and they all played a role in one way or another, even purchasing mustard seed necklaces. Anyone is capable of serving the community, regardless of their age or experience or circumstances. If you have the desire to make a difference, you really only need one thing: faith.

For more information on the First Place or to make a donation, see their website at https://troyfoodpantry.org. Food donations can be made directly to the location during business hours, and cash donations can be made at the food pantry location, mailed to P.O. Box 81, Troy, Ohio 45373, or anytime on their website https://bit.ly/DonateFPfoodpantry. Sharon Buse can be reached at fpfoodpantry@gmail.com.