It would be hours before the sun rose and even longer before the Food Bank’s Partner Agency, El Buen Samaritano, opened its doors at 9 A.M. But that didn’t stop families from getting up Saturday morning to brave the cold and stand in line for the annual turkey distribution.
At 2 A.M. the first person arrived. Hundreds of families bundled up in hoodies, jackets, hats, gloves and even blankets would arrive later to make sure their families could have a traditional Thanksgiving meal on Thursday.
Thanks to a 1,000 turkey donation made by Randalls, after two years doing without one, Lily, 20, and her father, Donny, 57, will finally be able to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving meal. For Donny, it will be his first time cooking a turkey and his daughter's second time preparing the dinner.
“It’s a huge blessing, we’re so thankful and it really gives you more to be thankful for on Thanksgiving,” Lily said.
It has been a very rough couple of years for the family. When Donny’s mother fell ill with Alzheimer’s, Donny gave up his job to take care of her full-time and Lily left high school to help out.
After Donny’s mother passed away, he was unable to find a job and the family lost everything. The father and daughter moved from hotel to hotel and were finally forced to live under a bridge.
With the help of different organizations, the family has been able to secure housing and is turning their lives around.
Donny hopes to find a job within the next couple of weeks and Lily will begin GED classes at Austin Community College in January. After getting her GED, she plans to go to cosmetology school and hopefully be working in a salon in about two years.
For the small family, this Thanksgiving means hope for a brighter future and the start of a new family tradition.
“It’s the start of our own tradition in our family and if she ever has kids, we’ll pass it along,” Donny said. “It’s really nice to feel like we have something again," Lily said.
Though the family is still getting back on their feet, they’re excited to cook a Thanksgiving meal and share it with a new friend, who recently finished their last cancer treatment.
“We’ve been blessed by other people, so we want to give back too,” Donny said.
