JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Thousands of families in Jacksonville got much-needed help Saturday morning thanks to Celebration Church and Convoy of Hope members who partnered to host a grocery giveaway.
The grocery giveaway was part of Celebration Church’s annual Serve Day.
“We give groceries and bottled water and what we felt in our community was that one of the greatest ways that we can express love is not by saying it but by showing it in action and so that’s what we desire to do today on serve day,” Pastor Tim Timberlake said.
The bags included canned goods, cereal, water, and much more.
Thousands of cars waited in line to get much-needed groceries. For one Army veteran, Saturday was all about providing for her kids.
“This is really helpful,” Army Veteran Amie McMillan said.
McMillan served for nine years in the Army before leaving in 2014.
“I really appreciate it. This helps myself and my kids. Mostly care about my kids. I don’t really care if I eat,” McMillan said.
McMillan said she has fallen on some hard times.
With two kids at home for the summer, she said events like this go a long way.
“I don’t wanna see them hurting for food or telling me they’re hungry or anything like that so it’s great when you have a grocery giveaway like this it’s really gonna help put food in the house,” McMillan said.
And that’s the same story for nearly 2,500 families that received some groceries across multiple Northeast Florida locations.
Celebration Church put together 5,000 bags on Thursday to prepare for the giveaway, and they even brought Jacksonville Jaguar Devin Lloyd to help hand out bags.
“We’re just getting started. We’re gonna be here for another couple hours for it to already have this good of a turn out. It just shows how much people are are really in need of some extra help. Just a little extra boost. Just grateful to be a part of that,” Lloyd said.
Timberlake said that based on the success of Saturday’s event, they plan to make this a yearly thing.
“This is kind of a saving Grace,” McMillan said.