A local restaurant is serving up a really big check for kids! The Barrel House is donating more than $90,000 to help kids get a hot meal in the middle of the day. We were there as the restaurant owners got to hand over the check to the Sioux Falls School District.

The restaurant business can be stressful, chaotic and unpredictable.

Barrel House owner, Mark Fonder, is trying to make sure local kids don’t feel the same way about basic necessities. That’s why he and Jesse Severson started the Hungry Hearts Foundation.

“We do a coat drive. Anything kid related, hunger, keeping them warm. Anything else,” said Fonder.

They fund these efforts with an annual event at the restaurant on the southeast side of Sioux Falls.

This is only the second year, but they were able to raise $20,000 more than last year. It’s still not enough.

“Last year we realized there was a bigger need than we actually thought. We needed to raise more money over last year because there was more of a debt over last year,” said Jesse Severson, Barrel House Kitchen Manager/Chef.

“The ability of families to pay, the negative accounts have been growing over the last few years. So when the Barrel House comes in and raises a real substantial amount of money to help those families pay, it really is a great thing for the community,” said Todd Vik, Business Manager for Sioux Falls School District.

The Hungry Hearts founders say they’ll keep raising money as long as the need is there, and without state legislation to make sure kids are guaranteed a hot meal, that may be for a long time.

“We can raise as much money as we can, but the need is only going to grow as much as our city grows. We all know we’re building a new high school. We’re building a new middle school. That need is only going to grow,” said Severson.

Fonder also owns 212 The Boiling Point Bar and Restaurant in Brandon. At least he does until early next year.

He sold the restaurant but will still hold a big fundraiser for the Brandon Backpack Program on New Years Eve. He will be donating all of the money earned that night to the program to feed kids in Brandon.

