December 24, 2023
By: Dwayne Page
A record breaker!
Just a month after preparing and delivering hot Thanksgiving Day meals to hundreds of underprivileged and underserved people in the community, members of the DeKalb Emergency Services Association and other caring volunteers did the same on Saturday, December 23 just two days before Christmas Day.
According to Blake Cantrell, spokesperson for the DESA, meals were sent to 870 people in 238 households across the county Saturday morning. That is the largest delivery in the history of this annual effort by DESA.
Cooking and food preparation started early at the county complex kitchen. Volunteers then loaded their personal vehicles with food trays made up of ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, roll, and a homemade dessert and set out to deliver them to homes along the routes in time for the recipients’ noon time meal.
Feeding the hungry during Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve has become an annual effort of the DeKalb Emergency Services Association (DESA), in partnership with local businesses and volunteers.
“Although members of the DeKalb Emergency Services Association organize this effort, we get a lot of support from a lot of places,” said Cantrell. “We have volunteers here that provide homemade desserts, fill the food trays, and make deliveries to the homes. The majority of our kitchen crew consists of emergency service workers, and they start working at 7 a.m. We especially want to thank Liberty Star Arms and DeKalb Funeral Chapel because both have made donations to sponsor these meals. Liberty Star had a raffle to raise funds during their recent grand opening and DeKalb Funeral Chapel had a Christmas ornament sale to support this project,” said Cantrell.
With the success of both the Thanksgiving and Christmas meal endeavors, Cantrell said DESA is considering having another meal delivery during the year in 2024.