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LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Time now for StoryCorps. Cyndi Kirkhart runs the Facing Hunger Food Bank. It provides food for tens of thousands of people around Huntington, West Virginia. Scott Thompson started working at the food bank in 2021 after serving nearly five years in prison on drug charges.
SCOTT THOMPSON: I just got to the sober living house. I'm so fresh out of prison. And the guys were like, hey, do you want to go with us to the food bank to volunteer? And I'm like, freedom? Like, I can leave somewhere and - yes, please. You know? And I was like, I need a job. You're a felon. You better just work wherever somebody'll take you, and this place might actually hire me.
CYNDI KIRKHART: What was your first impression of me?
THOMPSON: You interviewed me, and I was very intimidated because I thought you were so fierce. You can own a room the second you walk into it. But you offered me a job in the warehouse, just let me get my foot in the door somewhere. So why did you decide to give me a chance?
KIRKHART: Because I believed in you. I really have a strong belief that we all have a gift that we're sent to share with the world. When I was a kid, I never knew we were poor, but I knew that our cupboard would be empty before my mom got paid. And sometimes someone would come and knock on the door, and when we went to open the door, there would be a box of food.
THOMPSON: Yeah.
KIRKHART: Someone's kindness made a difference. That's what's led me to where I am. And I think you had that, too.
THOMPSON: Through the majority of my childhood, I lived right next door to my grandfather, who was every bit of a role model. He would pull me out of school to go deliver food boxes to families in need. And my family members tell me, if your grandpa was alive, he'd be beside himself, because he raised me and trained me to do what I'm doing. I just - I wish I would've started sooner. Thank you for giving me purpose. When you decided to give me my chance, you changed the entire trajectory of my life. I don't just get up and go to work every day. I get up and feed people every day. And it's so much more than a job, and I'm glad and I'm honored to be in the position to help you do it.
KIRKHART: Well, it's my honor as well.
THOMPSON: Thank you.
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FADEL: Scott Thompson and Cyndi Kirkhart of the Facing Hunger Food Bank in Huntington, West Virginia. They're planning to distribute at least 100,000 meals this holiday season. Their interview is archived at the Library of Congress.
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