How an Austin woman’s kindness doesn’t go to waste

We asked you to tell us about inspiring women in your life. We went through hundreds of nominations in our Remarkable Women contest. Now, we’re sharing our finalists’ stories.

AUSTIN (KXAN) — What was supposed to be a small family pet for 78-year-old Carol Rabun grew into something much bigger than expected.

“We got a micro, mini pig nine years ago. Turns out not to be a micro, mini but 250 pounds,” she said.

Rabun knew she couldn’t afford to keep up with the appetite of Pumbaa, the not-so-micro, mini pig.

“I needed produce to feed him instead of having to buy it. I called all the grocery stores around and finally Fresh Plus [grocery store] told me that I could have their trimmings,” Rabun said.

The food was going to be thrown away, but Rabun was surprised by the quality.

“I get this trash bag full of trimmings, brought it home went through all the good, bad and ugly stuff that was in there. Found some really good stuff and said ‘Wow, there’s so much of this I could share it with other people,’” Rabun said.

At first, she shared it on social media with a simple message to her neighbors.

“If anybody would like to come over and get some of the produce, the good stuff. And three people did,” Rabun said.

That message of kindness soon spread with a line of people down the block.

“The whole gamut from homeless, to people who have a house, have a car, but they lost their job,” Rabun said.

The more people needed her, the more she pushed herself to find food.

“I thought ‘Gosh, we need to pick up food in more places.’ I started calling more places to get more donations and then we needed more volunteers to pick up more donations,” Rabun said.

Eight years later, Rabun now helps feed thousands a month with the appropriately named organization Carol’s Kindness Food Pantry.

“We moved to another place in our neighborhood where we can feed 160. People who come to pick up food for their families… each one of those families have four or five members,” Rabun said.

While the demand for the Carol’s Kindness Food Pantry continues to grow, this remarkable woman refuses to slow down.

“When you’re fixin’ to turn 79, you don’t have time to stop and think and rationalize. You just you have a very short time left. So, you just keep going get it done,” Rabun said.

The volunteer-run nonprofit expanded its reach and goes beyond food rescue to help provide clothes, job and financial assistance.

“I just thought I was saving food from the landfill and people were taking it,” Rabun said.

Rabun has saved more than she imagined.

“First time ever, it hit me. We’re really doing something. This is awesome,” Rabun said while sitting in the parking lot of the food pantry.

“Look at all these people, and they’re so happy. They’re actually smiling and laughing and joking getting into their cars, because they have food for today or this week, instead of going in the landfill,” Rabun said.

Here’s how you can donate to Carol’s Kindness Food Pantry.

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