TALLAHASSEE FLA. (WTXL) — The annual Camp Out for Hunger event is underway, as Adams Radio Group helps Second Harvest of the Big Bend feed families in need this Thanksgiving.
- Adams Radio Group’s “Camp Out for Hunger” is collecting canned and non-perishable food through Sunday at the Thomasville Road Walmart.
- Second Harvest of the Big Bend plans to serve 2,500 families this Thanksgiving — 1,500 through an in-person distribution and 1,000 via home deliveries.
- Watch the video to learn about a new solution for families who are unable to make it to large food distributions in the community.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Thanksgiving is a time for family, food, and gratitude, but for 96,000 people across the Big Bend facing SNAP benefit cuts, it’s also a time of uncertainty.
This week, the Adams Radio Group is camping out in the Walmart parking lot on Thomasville Road, collecting canned goods and non-perishable food for Second Harvest of the Big Bend.
Twice a year, the team at Adams Radio Group takes their show on the road, setting up in parking lots instead of the studio. They camp out for days collecting non-perishable food items to help Second Harvest of the Big Bend meet the growing need in the community.
"I live here for the entire time. I do not leave this parking lot until we stock this trailer behind me," Adams Radio Group Operation Manager Tres "Twiggins" Wiggins said.
For many families across the Big Bend, a Thanksgiving dinner is not guaranteed, and with SNAP benefits cut off Second Harvest is already seeing an increase in demand.
"Our Thanksgiving distribution, we know is going to have to increase. We're actually already planning for that to be another 1500-family distribution," Second Harvest CEO Monique Ellsworth said.
In addition to the 1500-family distribution set for November 22, a number of partners are coming together to make sure of one thing.
"We're looking to make sure that families that otherwise need the food, but couldn't, you know, achieve the transportation necessary to get to our Thanksgiving distributions, that we're giving them another option," Ellsworth said.
The first-of-its-kind effort, called Thankful Deliveries, will bring Thanksgiving meals directly to 1000 families doorsteps the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. To make this possible, the Adams Radio Group and Second Harvest are asking for:
"Canned gravy. We're asking for cranberry sauce, or canned berry sauce, as I call it, bring that out," Wiggins said.
People can come out and donate until Sunday.
One family said they made an effort to come to show that neighbors support neighbors.
"When you have the opportunity to help others in society, especially in the current, you know, political climate, we just have to stick up for each other," Logan Thomas Lee-Marple said.
For many, this drive is the only reason they'll have a Thanksgiving dinner.
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