Queens dish out lunch, love to Fort Mill kids

South Carolina Strawberry Festival Queens served lunch to Fort Mill children who might otherwise go without during the summer months.

Michelle Cherikos, Mrs. Strawberry Festival; Carly Becknell, Miss Strawberry Festival; and Casey Hillman, Teen Strawberry Festival, served lunch to children at Steele Street Park as part of the York County Summer Feeding Program, paid for by the federal government and administered by the state.

The program provides free, healthy meals to children and teens at risk for hunger, particularly during the summer when school is out. The county recruits volunteers to run the sites.

Fort Mill has two sites – Steele Street Park and the Anne Springs Close Greenway Recreation Complex.

“We don’t want children to go without,” said Tyrie Rowell, one of York County’s area site monitors.

Cherikos, who owns a photography company, said one of her clients told her about the program.

“I thought this would be a great thing for the queens to do,” Cherikos said, and Becknell and Hillman agreed.

At first, Hillman said, “I thought I was just going to come and hand out some lunches.” But, she ended up being able to interact with the picnic table full of children.

“I got to get to know some of them,” Hillman said.

For Cherikos, “just coming out and serving and just playing with (the children,)” was the best part of the day, because “a lot of times, that’s the most important part.”

“My favorite part is seeing the kids smile,” Becknell said. “And their interest in Brinkley.”

Brinkley is Becknell’s service dog. Becknell has Usher’s syndrome – she is deaf and legally blind. She wears a hearing device and her sight can be compared to looking through a straw.

Since winning her title, Becknell has shared her story with the public through local speaking engagements. Becknell said Brinkley’s presence makes people curious, and she is always happy to have an opportunity to share about Usher’s syndrome.

“One of the girls actually grabbed a straw and looked through it,” Becknell said.

While the feeding program helps prevent hunger among children in the area, being low-income is not a prerequisite, Rowell said.

“It’s for any children, 18 and under,” he said.

The county has struggled to find volunteers for the sites, Rowell said.

“We actually had to close down some sites this summer because we didn’t have enough volunteers,” Rowell said. “A lot of people didn’t know about the program.”

The county provides training to people and organizations interested in volunteering, Rowell said.

“One of the things the kids like to do is talk,” Rowell said, adding that some volunteers plan games and activities to do with the kids.

At Steele Street Park, the children shrieked as they ran through the water spray area of the park.

One aspect of the experience made an impact on Hillman.

“It’s just 15 minutes from my house, and I’m making a difference,” she said.

This story was originally published August 11, 2015 at 2:06 PM with the headline "Queens dish out lunch, love to Fort Mill kids."