ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis grandmother is making a difference in teens’ lives, one breakfast plate at a time. Dozens of Bishop DuBourg High School students shuffle through her doors and into her kitchen on Wednesday mornings for breakfast club. They affectionately call her “Grandma Peggy.”
This Wednesday was a special one as FOX2’s Tim Ezell joined Peggy Winckowski for her breakfast club. Winckowski had a table full of her grandson’s and Sam Crowe’s friends.
Winckowski’s grandson, Sam Crowe, initiated the Wednesday Breakfast Club, and it continues in his honor. Crowe died in July 2022 in an accident.
“I love Wednesdays. I love feeding these children, who are the best and most well-behaved in the world. I want every child to have what they have,” Winckowski said.
Winckowski explained that Sam, along with his cousin Owen and seven friends, used to gather for breakfast before school started on Wednesdays due to Bishop DuBourg’s late start. One day, Crowe came home and told Winckowski that he had informed his friends that she made the best breakfast.
The breakfast club was born, and Winckowski continues to prepare breakfast for those who show up. She begins her day between 4:30 a.m. and 5 a.m., with the kids arriving around 7:10 a.m. and 7:30 a.m.
“I lost my grandson in a tragic accident, but if you try to turn the bad into good, you can get 20–30 extra kids, all calling me Grandma Peggy,” she said. “I think that Sam was putting this in place so I wouldn’t be lonely.”
If you would like to contribute, her Venmo account username is Peggy-Winckowski for those who wish to donate.
