LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) — The West Ohio Food Bank is preparing for its annual Christmas Eve meal giveaway, with volunteers assembling thousands of holiday meals for local families.
About 50 volunteers gathered Tuesday to package nearly 3,000 heat-and-eat turkey dinners complete with all the trimmings. This marks the fifth year the food bank has distributed meals on Christmas Eve, a tradition that began after another organization discontinued its holiday meal during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to volunteers helping assemble meals on Tuesday and distribute them on Wednesday, families across the area will be able to enjoy a Christmas meal.
“We could never do this without the volunteers. Otherwise, our small staff would be packing these meals for two or three days. But with the amount of volunteers we have today, they'll probably get it done in a couple hours." says Tommie Harner, CEO, West Ohio Food Bank.
Employees from the Reineke Family of Dealerships also assisted with assembling meals as part of their ongoing commitment to community service.
“It's quite impressive. There's a lot of food being donated. There's a lot of food being moved around. And happy to have my little grandson here, five years old, helping in the whole scheme of things. So, it's good to see this support coming from the community,” says Bill Reineke, Reineke Family of Dealerships/ 26th District State Senator.
The Christmas Eve Meal Giveaway will take place at the West Ohio Food Bank, located at 1380 E. Kibby St. in Lima, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Participants should enter on the west side of the building to line up for the drive-thru.
