Since about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, Louise Hall sat in her car with her coffee, waiting for her Thanksgiving meal.
Not long after 11 a.m., she received a turkey and fresh vegetables.
“I don’t mind waiting,” Hall, a Gary resident, said while in line. “It’s a blessing. It’s truly a blessing, and I wouldn’t be here today if I didn’t need it.”
Hall was one of the 1,000 Gary residents who participated in the city’s annual Thanksgiving meal giveaway, a partnership between Mayor Eddie Melton’s administration and Faith CDC. Through the giveaway, Gary residents receive fresh vegetables and either a turkey or ham.
“It makes me really proud to see everyone helping out here,” Hall said. “Everyone is just working together, and it really makes a difference, and it makes everything click. It’s great.”
JC Straughter, another Gary resident, participated in the meal giveaway. He got in line around 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
This was Straughter’s first year participating, but he has plans to return if the partnership continues. Straughter said he’s proud to see his fellow Gary residents helping each other.
“It’s a great thing to do,” Straughter said. “It’s helping a lot of us out.”
The earliest giveaway recipient arrived at about 5 a.m., volunteers said.
Freida Graves, director of Food is Medicine for Faith CDC, was in charge of coordinating the annual meal giveaway. Tickets were given to Gary residents throughout the city on Nov. 5, Graves said, and residents stayed in their cars while waiting and receiving meals.
“We tried to bring it all over the city and make it easily accessible for people,” Graves said. “Right now, this is just about community service, and we’re giving back as best as we can.”
This year, as the future of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Plan benefits are unsteady, Graves believes it’s even more important for the city and Faith CDC to work together.
“People are having a hard time, just with the economy, paying bills, buying groceries and all kinds of things,” she said. “Not only is it important to do it today, but it’s important to do this and give back all year long.”
Melton agreed with Graves’ sentiments and said he was proud to see members of his administration and community volunteering on Tuesday. The meal giveaway had about 150 volunteers.
Food insecurity is a real and present issue, Melton said, and he believes that the freeze in SNAP benefits showed that. For Melton, that made participating in the food drive even more important.
“It really resonated with me and reminded me as a leader that we can’t get ourselves caught in another predicament where we’re vulnerable,” Melton said. “What are we going to do on the local level to sustain this? That’s something we’re trying to figure out.”
Melton’s administration enjoys working with Faith CDC on the food drive, he said, and he thinks it’s important to work with an organization that helps provide fresh, healthy foods to residents.
“This just warms my heart,” Melton said. “As long as we show love to each other and help lift ourselves up, I think everything is going to be OK.”
Gary residents Zina Litt, Debra Cooper and Alisia Green all volunteered during Tuesday’s meal giveaway. Tuesday was Litt and Green’s first year volunteering, but Cooper said she had helped one other time.
“It’s wonderful,” Cooper said. “It’s so good to be out here and to see so many other people helping and smiling.”
The women said they were excited to be volunteering, and they were proud to see other community members helping, including Melton and WNBA player Dana Evans.
“I love it,” Green said. “I love Gary, and I’m blessed to serve our community.”
mwilkins@chicagotribune.com