| History |
FOUNDERS AND DIRECTORS
Feed My People was founded in October 1982, by John and Carol DeGuire. It was begun to meet the growing needs of the poor in South Saint Louis County, Missouri. This area was served only in an irregular fashion before this. By the end of 2003 Feed My People had grown to an organization helping almost 85,000 people a year in a variety of ways. The service area includes 16 zip codes from the Mississippi River to Pacific, Missouri, at the Franklin County Line, and from I-44 to the Meramec River and beyond. This makes Feed My People one of the largest organizations of its kind in the St. Louis area.In March 1989 Feed My People opened a second office in Fenton to handle the growing number of people needing help in southwest St. Louis County and northwest Jefferson County. In 1997, this office was moved from Fenton to High Ridge because of the need for more space. A closed funeral home was purchased and remodeled to meet our needs. This increased space at this office by 50 percent, allowing Feed My People to add a variety of client programs, which previously had been restricted to the main site only.
In the beginning of 1999, Feed My People took over an apartment complex of 48 units directly across from our South County Office, with a commitment to provide housing for low income working people.
In 2004, Feed My People, working in conjunction with Rebuilding Together-St. Louis, started rehabbing homes of the elderly and handicapped in South St. Louis County.
In the beginning, we had many struggles and obstacles to overcome. We started in a small house on Lemay Ferry Road, with just a handful of volunteers. We started off by helping one family at a time and things just grew from there. When a door was shut, God opened a window.
Our main emphisis was providing food, but as we went along, we added many different programs; anyway we could be of help to those in need, and if we couldn't help them, we would refer them some place that could. Today we have over 20 programs, with a Thrift Store at each facility as primarily a service to our clients, but open to the public as well. The proceeds help fund our programs. We treat each person who comes to us for help with dignity. Besides their daily needs, we try to give them hope for a brighter future, and let them know that we care and that God cares.We are happy to come out and share what we do, to any group, school, business or organization. We have a 20-minute video that describes our program. We will also be glad to answer any questions, and show you ways you can help. For information about setting up a time for us to be a speaker for your group, call 314.631.4900 and ask for Carol or John, or email them at fmpdir@earthlink.net