Going straight to source — on a statewide stage

CHARLESTON - Food for thought. For sure.

And it didn't take long.

Local clergyman the Rev. Kevin Cain - "Rev Kev," to all who know him - became known across Morgantown years ago as the guy who prepared and served all those meals, to all those football and basketball players, in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Soon, he was pondering his own spiritual nourishment. 

He had an idea to expand the menu for students not on the team. 

An idea he hoped would go right to the source of food insecurity that abounds ... even in relatively prosperous Monongalia County.

To be food insecure means you're simply unable to get enough on your plate to sustain yourself, nutritionally. That makes it just as clinical as it is socioeconomic. 

Cain knew kids from needy households in Mon could rely on breakfast and lunch at school, but what about the weekend?

That's how The Source, which offers literal bagfuls of food and nutritional snacks for such youngsters when the cafeteria is closed, came to be.

Skyview Elementary School is home base for the extracurricular feeding program.

The Education Alliance, a nonprofit in Charleston that recognizes learning and empowerment, linked up with Hope Gas for an award celebrating the outreach.

And The Source this past spring was bestowed with that inaugural honor.

"Hope for the Future: School-Business Partnerships of the Year," carries a total prize package of $25,000. 

Meanwhile, representatives from Mon Schools and The Source were under the lights on the big stage of the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center for their recognition Tuesday.

They were in the state's capital city as part of the alliance's 2026 education summit.

No matter when or where the award was made, Robert Hull said, it's still in the moment.

It's still in the immediate - which is why it remains vital, he said, whether school is in session or not. 

"The Source focuses on meeting community needs now," said Hull, the alliance's executive director of outreach and innovation. "That's good work."

Cain is gratified for the attention. Not for ego, he said, but for the outreach and education of it all.

The Source already has a core group of kindred spirits and caring volunteers, he said.

More people finding out about it, he preached, means more people joining ranks in the call of aiding a vulnerable population.

"We don't receive a single government dollar," he said during the initial recognition during spring. "There are so many good people giving of their time, their talent and their treasure."

Since The Source's founding in 2010, the clergyman continued, school years have been busy affairs.

More than 3 million meals have been distributed - "And we're serving almost 600 kids every weekend," he said. 

It has since branched out to students at Mylan Park and Mason Dixon elementary schools, along with Clay-Battelle Middle-High School and the EXCEL center — all helping to fortify students, he said, when the cafeteria is closed.

"We’re honored to be able to do this," Cain said.