FARMINGTON—The men at Red Barn Academy are working hard every day to pull themselves out of addiction and crime and become productive citizens. Most of them go to jobs during the day and need a lunch to take along. Ken Garff employees jumped in last week to pack lunches for the residents and then delivered them to Red Barn. 

“We were brainstorming what we could do for our ‘We’re here for you’ service program,” said Emma Checketts, Ken Garff community partnership and events manager. “Many of our employees had experience with addiction in their families so they were passionate about this community and could really connect.”

The program is service oriented, said Checketts. “We want to give back to the community and not just write a check. We want to do something meaningful.”

Red Barn often gets food donated but they don’t get to choose what they want, she said. “They gave us a list of what they’d like to take with them as they go to work. We packed what they had on the list plus a few extra things and notes saying things like ‘people are thinking about you’ because they don’t have contact with anyone outside.”

The next day after packing the lunches, employees delivered the snack bag and treated the men to a catered meal. “Then they told us what Red Barn is and gave us a tour of the facility,” Checketts said. 

The service program really started when COVID hit, she said. “We wanted to give back to the community businesses that were hard hit. We knew how blessed we were because we were still afloat when many were not.”

The company helped through COVID but it’s grown, said Checketts. “Now it’s not COVID driven. We do what employees are passionate about and serve local communities as well.”

Each store does a project every quarter, she said. “It helps employees get outside of themselves and outside of the store. We’ve gotten great feedback from employees because they’re getting involved with picking the organization we’re going to serve. It’s exciting.”

They’ve also done different projects downtown, Checketts said. “We do a veteran meal drive at Thanksgiving. The employees are so passionate about it because some of them are veterans or their family members are.”

This year was the most attended she said. “We gave out 500 meals and all the fixings. It was so cold but it was cool to see the veterans and employees in tears. It was such a special thing.”

Ken Garff also hosts the Mr. and Mrs. Inspiration pageant with TURN special education services, Checketts said. “Some of them come in a tux and with flowers. The contestants tell the judges about their lives and what they’re interested in. Then the panel chooses. When Mr. Inspiration won, he was so excited he was dancing.”

Checketts said she has the best job working in the service program. “It’s super fun – I love it.”