Thanksgiving is nearly a week away and with the ongoing supply chain issues local groups are working harder to get food for those in need before the holiday.
One company you might not expect is out making food deliveries, that company is Two Men and a Truck.
It’s primarily a moving company, but its crews are hitting the road to help people in St. Johns County ahead of Turkey Day.
“We’ve delivered close to 19,000 pounds of food, which equates to just under 18,000 meals,” said Peter Ruffing, Two Men and a Truck representative.
The organization created its Movers for Meals program to serve people facing food insecurity.
It has a longstanding relationship with several organizations, including Winn-Dixie and Pie in the Sky Community Alliance of St. Johns County, a mobile food pantry serving homebound seniors.
“Food insecurity it’s a daily issue, but it’s even more so during the holiday time. We don’t want anybody to go without a Thanksgiving meal,” said Ruffing.
Every month it delivers food donations to shelters and food banks across the First Coast region.
But this holiday season, it will team up with “Pie in the Sky” to feed more than 450 homebound seniors in St. Johns County starting today with deliveries of essential foods for Thanksgiving meals.
“Basically, everything you need to help supplement the Thanksgiving meal. We have cans of corn, Winn-Dixie mash potatoes, stuffing, everything, cornbread. All the stuff you would hope to see at a Thanksgiving meal are going to go out to the folks Pie in the Sky deliver to,” said Ruffing.
Ruffing said the hope is that this will make a difference for those receiving the meals.
“It takes a village and if we can make the difference for 450 people in St. Johns County this Thanksgiving. This year we’ve made over 17,000 differences by supplying 17,000 meals to people that face food insecurity. So, all we’re trying to do is make a difference for some people who truly need it,” said Ruffing.
Deliveries begin Wednesday and continue through next week.
As an extra bonus, students from six St. Johns County schools handmade personalized Thanksgiving cards to go in every senior’s bag.