JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Cars wrapped around the stadiums parking lot Z Monday as hundreds of people came out for “Turkey Time with the Jags the 6th annual event were Feeding Northeast Florida and the Jacksonville Jaguars teamed up to give out 600 turkeys.
“We go and commit to turkey purchases at the spring of the year,” President and CEO of Feeding Northeast Florida, Susan King, said.
“First, we think about how many people we can help, then we think about how we can add that Jag swag that we are known for,“ Whitney Meyer, senior vice president and chief community impact officer, said.
600 families got turkey, fixings, and fresh vegetables for Thanksgiving, along with Jags gear.
People lined up as early as 8 A.M Monday morning to secure their place. Before noon, there were already over 100 people waiting.
“The turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy,” recipient Josie Williams said.
Josie Williams was one of hundreds who got up early this morning to secure a spot in line for the “Turkey times with the Jags.”
She says she is blessed to receive this help and excited as well to get to see a one-time Jags player.
She got to meet former quarterback David Garrard, who has been helping the food drive for years.
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“A lot of people that we are serving came out to the games and came out to support me, so I want to make sure I’m always giving back,” former Jacksonville Jaguars Quarterback David Garrard said.
Rosa was also up early this morning and is thankful to be able to interact with the players as well. But she is even more grateful for this distribution.
She said her family is on a fixed income and couldn’t offer Thanksgiving dinner otherwise, as most of their money has been going to hospital bills.
“My husband has cancer, and we are fighting a battle, so we weren’t able to do Thanksgiving, and we aren’t able to really do Christmas this year,” she said.
The drive helped 600 families with the help of countless volunteers, including Jaxon de Ville and Christian Braswell, a Jacksonville Jaguars’ cornerback. Braswell was in Arizona yesterday and didn’t miss the chance to come back and help out, as fans were happy to meet him.
“ I just want to continue being that blessing for others. I know a lot of people always ask for blessings, but it’s good to be that blessing,” Christian Braswell, Jacksonville Jaguars’ cornerback, said.
He wants to pass that blessing along to Rosa, whom he didn’t get to meet, but would love to connect with her to get her to a game.
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