Volunteers in Gainesville worked throughout the week to provide free Thanksgiving meals to the community.
That culminated in the 12th annual Gainesville Community Thanksgiving Feed.
Food was being delivered throughout the day to various locations and walk-ups were welcome from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday.
Community members walked inside of a spacious, bustling building on Athens Street where the line was picking up — full of people ready to get their meals.
“They’re going to be very happy,” Rufus Randolph said. “These people really need the plates and that’s why I’m here … to deliver the plates to these two people that I know.”
Randolph was standing in line, waiting for his meals. Kathy Amos, who is an assistant to the person who started the program — Martha Randolph — gave her reason why they do what they do.
“Seeing the faces of the people that we take the meals to is totally priceless,” Amos said. “I don’t know if anybody that has ever worked this doesn’t leave out of here full of joy.”
Amos said that they had delivered over 2,000 plates by 1 p.m., with more expected.
“I can’t even give you a guess, because we’re still rolling plates out of here,” Amos said. “There will be a lot of plates going out of here today, and a lot of happy faces.”
Right before it was his turn to get his plates, Randolph noted the laborious amount of effort put in to make the Thanksgiving Feed work.
“They had like six huge grills, and there was just chicken everywhere,” Randolph said. “They were getting the chicken off of a big transfer truck back here in the back that was donated, so it’s just good for the community that they are reaching out and feeding people on Thanksgiving.”
