After two years of serving children free breakfast before school near an Avondale bus top, Chris Rolle said he and his wife, Cookie, don’t have the money to continue the service this year.
Last year, an average of 70 children ate breakfast courtesy of the Rolles, and sometimes as many as 100 children came in the morning.
“We love seeing the children’s faces in the morning,” Rolle said. “But it’s a financial thing.”
Chris and Cookie Rolle have lived at 1314 Dodson Ave. for four years. Their ministry, Love Expressed, served breakfast outside every morning to kids waiting for the bus. But the building isn’t in the best shape, Chris Rolle said.
Dorothy and Chris Rolle chat with a customer Friday, August 7, 2015 on 23rd Street.“It gets pretty hot in the summers and pretty cold in the winters,” he said.
So they are moving to have more comfort in their lives, but that’s leaving them with moving costs and two sets of bills for the establishment on Dodson Avenue and their new house.
Since he announced the end of the breakfasts, people have reached out to the Rolles, Chris Rolle said. They’ve received about $1,000 in donations, which is well short of the $3,500 it takes to buy food and supplies for one month of operation. A GoFundMe page has been started at gofundme.com/HelpTheRolles and as of Friday night it had $830.
If they are able to raise the money, Chris Rolle said they would keep feeding kids at the location on Dodson Avenue. It’s not about the time it takes – they open every morning at 6 a.m. – it’s about the money, he said.
“It’s desperately needed in this area,” he said.
The Rolles were the subject of controversy last fall. The Hamilton County Department of Education said that because the bus stop was across the street from where the Rolles set up, they were endangering students who would cross the street to get a free meal in the mornings.
Eventually, the Rolles won and the battle when City Hall installed a $17,000 crosswalk to ensure the children’s safety.
Contact staff writer Evan Hoopfer at ehoopfer@timesfree press.com or twitter.com/EvanHoopfer or 423-757-6731.