THOMASVILLE, Ga. (WTXL) — Hard times haven't stopped Thomasville families from wanting a little holiday joy and a long line Thursday showed just how many are trying to make that happen.
- The city prepared 300 full meals, all gone before 6 p.m. as demand surged before the 4 p.m. start time.
- About eight community partners helped pull the event together after months of planning.
- Watch the video below to see how neighbors felt about the event
City of Thomasville serves 300 Thanksgiving meals as families feel the strain
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
This is the city's holiday meal giveaway one of just two big outreach feeds they do every year.
With inflation still hitting families hard, they've spent months planning with about eight local partners, pulling together a full Thanksgiving-style plate and a drive-thru system to keep things moving.
"We obviously, we're not going to turn anybody away. Anybody has a need, you know, we're no one to define who has a need, but, you know, if they feel they have a need, we welcome them with open arms," said Ricky Zambrano, Public Information Manager for the City of Thomasville.
I asked neighbors receiving food if events like this actually help.
Reather Venable drove in from Cairo she told me with inflation and groceries more expensive, this kind of support makes a real difference.
"Naturally throughout the year, multiple families are already in need and hunger. So when it's time for families to get together and spend time with their loved ones, the last thing they want to worry about is where their next meal is going to come from. So I think this is a wonderful time for us to be able to come together as a community and give back," said Venable.
The city prepared 300 full meals turkey, green beans, mashed potatoes, dessert, fruit, and water.
The response was steady all afternoon: walk-ups, drive-thru, even deliveries.
Ricky says plates were going out before the 4 p.m. start.
"I'll tell you what, we haven't officially started. We start at 4, but the need has already begun, and we've given out, we're probably upwards of 20 to 30 already," said Venable.
And everything was gone before 6.
"The food was wonderful. They not only was given desserts, but they made sure they had a full course meal, water, as well as dessert and fruit. So I feel like it was a wonderful feed," said Reather.
Zambrano says that even with just 300 plates, some were already taken to a family recovering from a structure fire that came in at 1:09 this afternoon firefighters found heavy flames at the front of the home, but everyone got out safely.
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