New Kent community bands together to feed those in need

Thanksgiving in the Ron Stiers household traditionally means a celebration with children, grandkids, other family members, and friends sitting down to a bountiful feast. But 15 days before this year’s holiday, the Providence Forge photography studio owner suddenly envisioned a plan whereby those less fortunate in the community could have the same.

The night before his revelation, he attended a meeting where the discussion topics included the current state of food pantry programs in New Kent along with the growing number of people in need of assistance.

“The next morning I got to thinking I’m president of the Providence Forge Recreation Association and here we have a 7,000 square-foot building with commercial ovens that’s going to be closed Thanksgiving Day.”

Facing time constraints, the recreation association joined with Providence Forge Presbyterian Church in hastily organizing a four-hour dinner event inside the association’s center located on Carriage Road. Contacts were made in the community — local churches, civic groups, Social Services — and over 100 volunteers answered the call.

“To throw this event together in such a short time was a major undertaking,” Stiers said. “This was about how the whole community came together on such short notice. I spearheaded it, but there’s no ‘I’ in ‘team.’”

Food donations, enough to feed 400 people, poured in from local grocery stores, restaurants, and private individuals. A food supply company donated use of a refrigerated truck. Stiers then arranged for three catering companies to handle the Thanksgiving Day event.

“One caterer started at 3 a.m. smoking 32 turkeys and 28 hams,” he said. “Another was in charge of the kitchen, preparing donated food and making sure food was warm, and the third was in charge of the dining room, setting up tables and handling people as they came in.”

Close to 3,000 flyers advertising the event were distributed through local churches and by Social Services in New Kent and Charles City, urging people in need, those who have lost jobs, or anyone looking for a hot meal to stop by. Unfortunately and perhaps due to the short notice, only 85 people showed up.

“When it was over at 4 p.m., we had close to 300 dinners left,” Stiers said. “We began calling around the county to see if anybody needed food. We even called the sheriff’s office and State Police to invite officers to stop by for a hot meal.”

Success proved limited until someone brought up the homeless. Volunteers then boxed the remaining food, loaded the meals into vehicles outside, and a caravan of about eight vehicles sped off toward Richmond.

First stop, Monroe Park where volunteers handed out meals to the homeless. Then it was on to a homeless women’s shelter where the volunteers distributed the remaining meals. Stiers did not accompany the caravan, but he said he later learned the women’s shelter had run out of food and was in desperate need when the volunteers arrived.

“The bottom line is no food went to waste,” he said. “We plan to do it next year. The three caterers say they’re all on board. We’ll make some changes and probably open it to others and not just the needy, and we’ll definitely start planning it earlier than 15 days before.”