b'The website quotes Mother Teresa: If you cant feed one hundred people, feed just one. Indeed, after starting out with only two cans of corn, Cheryl Action Jackson, founder of Minnies FoodOPRAH WINFREY WAS SO IMPRESSED Pantry in Plano, and her staff and volunteers have served almost ten million meals to about 60,000 people per year in North TexasWITH CHERYLS RELENTLESSNESS during the last decade.THAT SHE PERSONALLY DONATED OVER Cherylrecallsherfirstvisittogetfoodstampsasahorrific experience. She married at just 17 years old, and her father told her$600,000 AND WAS THE KEYNOTE husband that if he couldnt support her, he should bring her back home. The two struggled to make ends meet and worked five jobsSPEAKER AT THE MINNIES FOOD between them to pay the bills and feed their two children. One day,PANTRY GALA LAST YEAR, WHICH feeling hopeless, Cheryl went to apply for food stamps. We were hungry; we needed a meal. I didnt want to have to goRAISED $1.3 MILLION.to my parents, she explains. It was the lack of dignity of that experience that lit a fire from within me. I knew there had to be a better way.While working at a paging company, Cheryl happened to sell Dallasa sign.Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith a pager. She eventually wentCherylsfatherdiedonFathersDay2004,andshebecame into business with Smith and saw him give back to the community,depressed. Her mother, Minnie Hawthorne-Ewing D.D., was there BY KARYN BRODSKYfrom food and toys to money and holiday meals. Cheryl realizedforherduringthistimeandencouragedhertodosomething that giving on a large scale like this was a goal she aimed to achieve.meaningful to help bring her out of despair. When she won a contest to conduct interviews for Fox News atI was so grateful to my mother, and I wanted to honor her; I the Academy Awards, what struck Cheryl the most was watchingwanted the world to know her name, says Cheryl. A small voice peopleastheywalkedtheredcarpet.Therewassomethinginside me said to feed the hungry, and so I embarked on Minnies dignifying about that red carpet, and she knew it was some sort ofFood Pantry.WHEN WE THINK ABOUT ACTIVE HUNGER FIGHTERS IN NORTH TEXAS, THE NAMES CHERYL JACKSON AND MINNIES FOOD PANTRY REACH FAR AND WIDE. CHERYL HAS A PASSION FOR PEOPLE - THEIR STORIES, THEIR STRUGGLES AND THEIR NEEDS. SHE AND A TALENTED TEAM HAVE DONE TREMENDOUS WORK TO ELEVATE THE ISSUE OF HUNGER IN NORTH TEXAS AND BEYOND. HER DETERMINATION, PASSION AND TENACITY ARE INSPIRING, BUT IT IS HER ACTIONS THAT ARE TRANSFORMATIVE FOR OUR COMMUNITY.- TRISHA CUNNINGHAM, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE NORTH TEXAS FOOD BANKWe want to put ourselves out of business, says Cheryl. If people learn, get a better job, and earn more money, eventually they wont need a food pantry.GoodLifeFamilyMag.comSEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 201913 CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE'