Pastor Rodney lackey said his church's pre-holiday 'feed the hungry' effort has changed a bit, but the idea is still the same, to make sure people have a good meal for the season.
"We had been doing 'Thanksgiving with Antioch', but now we changed it to 'Thanksgiving dinner on Antioch' where we basically supply the turkey and the other items that we put together in a good meal for a family to go home and fix for themselves," Pastor Lackey said.
As the cars lined up in the church parking lot, members inside filled the meal boxes and other members were waiting to load them into the cars outside.
"It's more convenient for the families and it gives us an opportunity to not have to worry about a lot of cooking," Lackey said. "Other churches are preparing the meals and they eat that one meal, but we want to give them something where they can have a meal and then have leftovers and various meals; this will last longer."
Boxes contained stuffing, green beans, cranberry sauce and a turkey; the pastor said there is a growing need in the recession economy and the number of recipients has increased.
"Some people would probably be doing without, this is a tough time and lot of people is struggling," the Pastor said. "We've seen a great increase."
'Thanksgiving on Antioch' began around 9:00 a.m. and continued until the food ran out, with families picking up food tickets as they entered the parking lot, presenting the tickets, and driving away with a maximum of two boxes per car.
Antioch member David Carter was busy handing out boxes to the waiting families. He's been helping the church on the Saturday before Thanksgiving for five years.
"The economy's bad and people are in need," Carter said. "That's what a church is all about, trying to help the community."
Pastor Rodney Lackey said his church
Antioch member David Carter was busy handing out boxes to the waiting families
As the cars lined up in the church parking lot, members inside filled the meal boxes
http://accesswdun.com/article/2010/11/233937