by Katelyn Dotson, Guest Writer
Aim Outreach, a food bank in the old Frazeysburg Elementary School, has expanded their services and are taking it to the streets of Frazeysburg and the surrounding communities this summer.
Last summer, AIM Outreach handed out ice cream with a man from Columbus who had an ice cream truck. He conveniently had a second truck for sale, and AIM bought it in October. AIM Outreach is now driving their newly restored ice cream truck around the Tri-Valley area, which includes Frazeysburg, Dresden, Trinway, Vista View, etc. giving out free lunches and ice cream.
The ice cream truck is a family-run organization. Jason and Anne Watson, their kids, and even the family dog volunteer to go out in the truck to deliver treats. The kids are excited and enjoy taking orders and passing out ice cream. “It is the most fun thing to see kids bouncing out.” Jason said.
The lunches and ice cream are completely free however, AIM does accept monetary donations. Visit their website, www.aimoutreach.com, or Facebook page to donate.
“With all the changes within the past year, we started to see less and less kids coming to our outreach. So we decided to go to the kids!” commented Jason.
Their favorite experience was when they approached an elderly couple and the woman said that her husband has dementia and was non-responsive, but when he heard the ice cream truck music, he said “cone”, and it was the first thing he had responded to in a while.
The ice cream truck will be at the Frazeysburg pool party on July 9th and the Dresden pool party on August 6th to hand out pizza and ice cream. You will also be able to see the AIM ice cream truck at the Dresden Homecoming Parade on July 7th and the Dresden Melon Festival in Dresden on Aug. 7th.
Jason and Anne also mentioned making the ice cream truck available for weddings and events. A portion of the proceeds will go back into AIM Outreach. To learn more about the ice cream truck or to schedule them for your next event visit AIM online at www.aimoutreach.com. You can also reach them through their Facebook page facebook.com/AIMoutreach.
