Papa Mike's Peanut-Powered Kindness

What Michael Meaders is doing in Cleveland, Georgia, is not just peanuts.

He grows them, sells them, and then gives most of the proceeds to the local elementary school so that its students have enough to eat during lunch time.

Affectionately known as Papa Mike, he had been giving kids who stopped at his roadside stand an apple, a slice of watermelon, and some peanuts, but he wanted to do more.

After talking with the school principal and other school officials, he agreed to purchase school lunches from his roadside stand proceeds for all the kids at that school who couldn’t afford them.

Withing a few months, Papa Mike had donated about $16,000 to the school so that none of the students ever owed a single cent of lunch debt!

After learning about Papa Mike, an Atlanta television station news reporter, Kaitlyn Ross of WXIA-TV (channel 11), drove to the town of 3,548 people, located about 90 miles northeast of Atlanta, and stopped by Papa Mike’s roadside stand.

Her story about the caring attitude and the generosity of this Georgia peanut and fruit grower and his roadside stand subsequently was aired nationally on October 16, 2024, as part of the NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Watch the full video below.