VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Volunteers worked day-in and day-out to make the 2020 Thanksgiving meal giveaway a success despite the pandemic.
Instead of its usual gathering where people eat a Thanksgiving dinner together, the Judeo-Christian Outreach Center boxed up individual meals and handed them out.
“We try to make it special on the holidays, but we are blessed to do it every day,” said Executive Director of the JCOC, Todd Walker.
One of the volunteers was Virginia Senator Bill DeSteph who helped cook some of the food and hand it out.
“This year, it’ll be turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing and gravy...then we’ll head over to JCOC and hand them out to the homeless,” said DeSteph.
Walker says they served more families this year than ever before. He says it’s disheartening to see families struggling with homelessness in the pandemic, but it shows giving back this time of year is important now more than ever.
“Just take today to kind of be thankful for everything you have in your life but also make sure it’s important to give back to others,” said Walker.
Volunteers handed out the meals to about 75 to 100 people by noon on Thanksgiving day.