Around dinner time, under clouds threatening rain, it was hard for kids at the nearby apartment homes to miss the large recreational vehicle parked at Northwoods Elementary School in Cary. Hopping on their bikes, they rode over to circle the vehicle taking up several spaces in the parking lot.

The RV’s painted exterior read: “Read and Feed: Giving kids an appetite for reading.”

Inside the RV were plenty of sandwiches, chips, fruit cups and Gatorade sponsored by Havana Grill. Children sat in booths before their lessons began. Aleisha Davila, an English as a Second Language assistant teacher at Northwoods, spoke with parents and helped with translating.

Jan Elmo, creator and president of Read and Feed, stood, or rather hunched over, in what she calls the “mobile classroom,” waiting to greet each new student or visitor with a smile.

Elmo and her volunteers, including former Northwoods Principal Gary Gammill, are in the third week of a 12-week program with Northwoods students. Each Monday evening, Read and Feed holds two sessions; one from 5 to 6 p.m. and one from 6:15 to 7:15. The students in the earlier group are mostly second- and third-graders, working on understanding the main topic of a story, the details and facts. Elmo said one of the goals is to help with end-of-grade testing.

More than half of the group headed to the back of the mobile classroom with Elmo to sink into brightly colored bean bag chairs and read aloud.

Three of the students sat with Gammill at the booth and discussed their assignment. Another volunteer fielded requests for pencils, found folders for new students and prepared for the next group.

“Read and Feed is all about making a difference in a child and parent’s life,” Elmo said. “We feel literacy is key to anyone’s success in life, and that’s why we’re doing what we are. Read and Feed levels the playing field.”

The program, 100-percent volunteer run, is a labor of love. Elmo campaigns for food donations, book donations and volunteers to help her share her vision.

The volunteer effort seems to be paying off. Read and Feed was going to take several weeks off in January, during Penny Road’s program, and students went into the principal’s office and asked why Read and Feed wasn’t coming. That break never happened, and the RV kept showing up.

Not only were the kids excited about reading, but the administrators said the kids started behaving better in class.

After the tutoring part of the program, kids received a small bag of chocolate chip cookies and had the opportunity to visit the Read and Feed Store.

Students crowded around Gammill to see the bags of goodies — Skittles, crayons, colorful erasers and tonight’s hot item, mechanical pencils. Read and Feed Dollars, printed up like Monopoly cash, can be earned by bringing homework assignments back each week, bringing a parent to the classroom or even just attending each Monday.

Each week, Elmo allows each child to have a book. There is even a book bin for the parents full of magazines and books that might interest them. “The idea is that the children create their own library at home,” Elmo said. “Often, the first book they ever get is from Read and Feed.”

Selena Morales, 6, paged through the bright, illustrated books in the first-grade crate. Karen Alarcon, 8, had already picked her choice: “Junie B. Jones and the Stinky, Smelly Bus.”

Read and Feed
All funds for Read and Feed go to resources for the reading program. Elmo is always looking for corporate sponsors and partners. If you are interested in volunteering with Read and Feed, visit readandfeed.org. Read and Feed is also looking for sponsors for the children’s dinner before their lessons. Contact janelmo@readandfeed.org or call 538-3840.