Southwest Express Café Makes Stop at Sand Beach for Lunch on the Lake
The Southwest Express Café bus made a special stop at Sand Beach Lake for “Lunch on the Lake” on Thursday, January 2, 2025, to serve area children in Hardeman County. The event was hosted by City of Bolivar Mayor Julian McTizic in partnership with the Southwest Human Resources Agency.
Children under the age of 18 were invited to attend Lunch on the Lake for a meal, which included a choice of a sandwich, chips, fruit snacks, an apple, and water, and dining with Mayor McTizic. It was an inaugural occasion, not only for the event, but also for it being the first time the Southwest Express Café was onsite anywhere to serve its purpose.
“This is the first time the bus has been used,” said Jimmy Sain, a consultant with Southwest Human Resource Agency in Henderson. “Hardeman County stepped up. The Hardeman County Schools donated the bus, Hill’s Carpet & Flooring put the flooring down, and Ashley’s Body Shop painted the bus.”
Southwest serves eight counties, which includes Hardeman, Chester, Decatur, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, McNairy, and Madison.
“It [the bus] is actually a prototype for us. Southwest has never had a bus like this,” said Mr. Sain. “We hope to have more buses in different counties. During the summer, this bus will be in Whiteville, Grand Junction, Bolivar, wherever we can feed the most kids.”
Although the Southwest Express Café will be dedicated to serving Hardeman County, it will go wherever it is needed to feed hungry children.
In April 2024, Kansas City Chiefs’ Trey Smith, who grew up in West Tennessee, visited Hardeman County to promote the Southwest HRA Summer Meal Program for Kids. During his visit, Mr. Smith shared that one in four children go hungry when school breaks out in the summer.
“The meals, which will be served from the bus are prepared at the central kitchen in Henderson. From that kitchen, Southwest served over one million meals last year,” said Mr. Sain, who hopes children come out this summer to eat at the Southwest Express Café.
The Southwest Express Café will come rolling through Hardeman County again this year once the summer break begins.
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