Help combat hunger in Patrick County by eating a pancake.

It sounds simple, and according to Jane Cardwell, it is.

Cardwell is encouraging everyone to mark their calendar and support the first ever “Pancake Days” event, which will raise funds to feed the hungry.

Pancake Days will be held at Rotary Field on Jan. 6-7, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., Cardwell said. The menu features pancakes, biscuits, gravy, bacon and/or sausage. A beverage is included, with choices such as coffee, juice, milk and water, she added. Dine-in and/or take-out plates are available. The cost is $8 for adults and $5 for children.

The Stuart United Methodist Youth Group is spearheading the event. All proceeds will stay in Patrick County and be evenly split between two local efforts: Feed the Funnel and the Disaster Food Relief Ministry, Cardwell said.

Feed the Funnel (The Pack Shack), is a foundation based near Rogers, Ark., Cardwell said, and added she first helped that agency pack boxes for Third World countries. She explained that agency representatives also work in the states, “traveling all over,” bringing food ordered by groups working to combat hunger, and helping to pack meals, Cardwell said.

After her first experience with the agency, “We decided we wanted to do something for Patrick County,” Cardwell said. “I told them they would be coming to Patrick County,” and earlier this year, they did.

Then, the local youth group had raised $5,000, which was the equivalent of 24,000 boxes, Cardwell said. The boxes — each of which feeds a family of four — were distributed among local churches with food banks and the Disaster Relief Food Ministry.

The ministry was able to feed about 369 families as a result, Cardwell said of the agency which “helps those who may not be able to get out. They actually visit homes to make sure people have what they need” whether its food, medicine, etc., she said.

The next “Pack Shack” event is scheduled for April 1 in Stuart, but “this year, we’ve upped the ante,” Cardwell said. The youth group hopes to raise $7,000, basically enough food to fill 28,000 boxes, she said, and the youth group is dedicated to a successful project.

“They have been working very hard to raise money for this project” through a number of different fund-raising efforts, Cardwell said. For example, “they’ve been catering meals on the first Sunday of every month, they’ve held a Community Bazaar that was hosted by our church, they’ve sold calendars, Christmas cards and Christmas trees.

“There are a lot of things they’ve done … That’s how important this is to those kids,” she said.

Any church, individual or teen can help with the fund-raising efforts, and youngsters aged 19 and under are invited to join the non-denominational youth and/or otherwise help with the Pancake Days. “It’s open to anyone who wants to come,” Cardwell said.

For additional information about the youth group, call 694-3322.

For more information about the pancake project, call 694-7469.

“Everyone from age 3 to 93, there is a job they can do,” Cardwell said, and noted that long term, “we hope this will be an annual event.”

A Shoe Drive also is underway through “sometime in January,” Cardwell said. Collected shoes are sent overseas to poor countries, but Cardwell said the youth group will receive a check for collecting the shoes. Those funds will be split between the Feed the Funnel program and the Patrick County 4-H Shooters Education Team to help offset the costs of entry and other related fees, she added.