Read how Ella Kroll reported this piece for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Produce, peanut stand owner collects donations to erase student lunch debt
I first heard about Michael Meaders directly through the AJC. He had previously been covered by other news outlets, and the AJC wanted a reporter to cover him for Everyday Heroes. His story hooked me, but I was initially a bit apprehensive to volunteer myself for the job, as I wasn’t sure when I would fit it into my schedule to drive to White County — about an hour north of Athens. It didn’t take long, though, for me to abandon those thoughts and jump at the chance to meet Meaders.
Finding him wasn’t all too straightforward – I combed through the other articles written about him and couldn’t find any contact information; then I searched for his phone number online, which was another dead end. Finally, I reached out to his son, BJ, on Facebook Messenger. BJ responded within the hour to let me know when and where I could find his father: Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with coordinates of the produce stand’s location attached.
When approaching the story, I not only had to think about how I was going to do it, but how I was going to do it differently. Meaders had already been profiled by Garden & Gun and 11Alive. Their reporting gave me some context as to what Meaders was doing in his community, but also made me nervous to cover someone who had already seen somewhat widespread news coverage, especially with me being a student reporter.
I decided to go into the conversation like a blank slate and a first meeting I would have with any source: I asked him basic, context-setting questions, eventually getting deeper into what drives him and what his past looked like, all while customers visited periodically throughout our time together to buy things like tomatoes and apples. He introduced me to friends and cousins along the way, and through just sitting behind the stand with him for a couple hours, I got a feel for Meaders and his produce stand’s impact in the county. Not only are his monetary donations to the students highly impactful, but he and the produce stand provide a warm welcome and a friendly face to all who visit. Meaders, his family and his customers all showed me such kindness — and funny enough, he sent me home with a bag of apples and a bag of peanuts, similar to the kids in the anecdote I began the story with.
For the story, I also reached out to Jill Baughman with White County Schools to confirm the amount of money Meaders had donated over the years. What I found out talking to her was much more: Baughman had known Meaders all her life, and passionately testified to what a gift he was to their county. Her perspective gave the official school system take on the matter, but also such a glimpse into their tight community and how big of an impact Meaders has. In my individual interviews with Baughman and Meaders, both were moved to tears talking about the hardships the students face and the relief that Meaders’ donations have given them. It was an honor to take on this assignment, get to know such an inspiring person and be able to feature him in a series that perfectly sums up what he is: an everyday hero.
I am satisfied with how the story came out, especially because of my starting goal and the fact that we were able to make it distinct from previous coverage from other outlets. Meaders’ stand focused just as equally on produce as it did peanuts at the time I visited, and I wanted to show that balance in my profile. He is also no longer paying school lunch debt due to a community eligibility provision from USDA, and pivoted to paying miscellaneous student expenses like shoes and clothing. This was a necessary update that showed that even with his initial goal being taken care of, he still finds ways to serve his community. The data I found was necessary to add context to the large issue of child poverty in rural White County, and I tried to keep my writing as concise as possible while illustrating just how far Meaders’ donations reach. I am proud that it was one of the first profiles published in the Everyday Heroes series and one that made it to the paper, and I will carry this experience with me far into the future.
