Three Italian restaurants in Morehead, Kentucky, are joining forces to provide free meals to kids this summer. Fazoli’s, Giovanni’s, and Mr. Gatti’s are each offering free meals, no questions asked, to help fill the gap when school meals are not available.

A Community Effort

The effort is about more than just food, according to Kearston Wayman, the general manager at the Morehead Fazoli’s. ‘You never know what people are going through in their day-to-day lives, and having that little excitement in Morehead is great,’ Wayman said.

For these restaurants, the program is aimed at giving back to the community. ‘Feel like through the summer, kids don’t get the opportunity to get the meals they need, and we try to give back to the community the best we can,’ said Travis Roark, the owner of Giovanni’s.

Dana Brown, the owner of Mr. Gatti’s, has been offering free personal pizzas every Wednesday through the end of summer for the last three years. However, this year, staff have noticed customers stealing food, using their kids’ free personal pizza boxes to stash extra food from the buffet.

Brown is worried that the loss will add up and has posted a warning on Facebook, stating that if the theft continues, the free meal program could end. ‘We tried to take care of it that way instead of embarrass somebody. We just want to let them know that we are watching. Please don’t,’ Brown said.

Partners in the Community

The three restaurants see each other as partners, not competitors. ‘We restaurant owners come together and work together and try not to compete. The kids are going to benefit from that,’ Roark said.

Staff at all three restaurants believe the program is rooted in community. ‘We just want everybody to know that we love our community and do what we can do to help. That’s what businesses do. My community comes in and supports me every day,’ said Brown.

Original reporting: WTVQ (Lexington) — read the source article.