The Indianapolis Recorder covers two of our neighbors: “Snacks for the Soul”

Family uses love of food, service to feed community

Life is a collection of experiences that shape who we are and inform the way we see the world around us. For Ro and Earl Townsend, their challenging childhoods affected them in ways that would render many debilitated. The pair instead used those stumbling blocks as stepping-stones on a path to a new life, based on service to their fellow man.

Ro, a 37-year-old Indianapolis native, grew up in — what would be considered from the outside looking in — a fairytale household. Both parents were there, and finances were no issue. Earl, 36, grew up similarly, but things for the both of them were far from ideal.

They each experienced isolation, neglect, sexual molestation and other things that drove them down dangerous paths to drugs and gang activity.

[Read the entire article here.]