Larry Jones

Larry Jones, the founder and president of Feed the Children, was born in 1940 in Scottsville, Kentucky, and grew up in Bowling Green. Larry Jones attended Oklahoma City University on a basketball scholarship and earned a Bachelor of Arts. While at OCU, he met his wife Frances. He later earned a Bachelor’s of Divinity degree from Phillips Seminary in Enid, Oklahoma.

In 1979, Larry Jones attended a conference in Port Au Prince, Haiti. Larry Jones immediately wanted to do something about the Haitian children who were living under such dire conditions. When Larry Jones returned to Oklahoma, he viewed America’s food abundance in a whole different light. He noted that that the US had grain elevators overflowing with unsold wheat, children were starving in a country only 200 miles away.

Larry saw the cost benefits of donating the wheat to Haiti. First, the shipping the grain would help American farmers. Second, it would alleviate the expense of storing the grain. But most importantly, hungry children would have enough to eat. From this simple cause and effect, Larry was inspired to start Feed the Children. On one of his first television commercials, Larry Jones asked the simple question, “Why should children be starving to death while we have surplus wheat in America?”

Feed The Children exists from one central premise: in a world of abundant resources, no child should go hungry. Larry and Frances Jones first launched Feed The Children in 1979, out of their own kitchen. Since then, Feed The Children has grown to be one of the largest charities in the world. Feed The Children has provided food and other essential goods to children and families in 118 countries. Feed the Children focuses upon families hit hard by poverty, natural disasters, and economic downturns.

Larry Jones’ humanitarian work through Feed the Children has been recognized around the world. Larry Jones has been awarded the H. J. Heimlich Humanitarian Award, the Humanitarian Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews, Oklahoman of the Year, and the National Caring Award. Larry Jones has also been featured on ABC News “Person of the Week”, and has been given Humanitarian Commendations from Armenia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Iran, and Lebanon.

Larry Jones has written man books, including Keep Walking: One’s Man’s Journey to Feed the World One Child at a Time, How to Bend without Breaking, How to Make It to Friday, The 15-Second Secret, Life’s Interruptions God’s Opportunities and his first novel, Black Box. His latest book, I Lost My Ball and Found My Life, was released in May 2009.

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