COASTAL OBSERVER

The volunteers were due at 7:30 to get ready for the 9 a.m. distribution of Thanksgiving turkeys. There were already people waiting.

One resident of the rural Sampit community said he left the house at 4:15 and was at the Baskervill Food Pantry at 4:45 a.m. He was third in line.

“The cost of groceries stays high,” said Josh Bullock, who organized the turkey and produce giveaway for the third year. “People come and get food from us.”

This was the biggest year for the turkey giveaway with 260 birds being distributed in 55 minutes. Participants also received a grocery bag with carrots, zucchini and apples.

The Lowcountry Food Bank provided 100 turkeys and 8,000 pounds of produce, said Bullock, who also runs produce giveaways in the spring and fall at the pantry on the campus of Holy Cross Faith Memorial Episcopal Church and at sites around Georgetown County.

The Pawleys Island Rotary Club provided a $4,150 grant that was used to buy additional turkeys from Walmart along with funding another produce distribution. Outreach Farm provided another 50 turkeys and a community group collected 43 more.

Roy Griffin heard about the turkey giveaway on one of his monthly visits to the Baskervill Food Pantry to donate items, something he’s done for the last five years.

He bought some turkeys to donate, but a neighbor in the Palm Bay community at Murrells Inlet suggested they cast a wider net.

“It was amazing,” Griffin said. “I was really proud of the neighborhood.”

They donated food items for the pantry and cash to buy turkeys.

“We normally give away 200,” Bullock said. “Because of the grant, we were able to do 260.”

Rotary Club members were also among the volunteers along with National Honor Society members from Waccamaw High, Cub Scouts from Pack 323 at St. Paul’s Methodist Church and church groups.

“I was overwhelmed by the turnout and the volunteers there,” Griffin said, adding that he was particularly struck by the number of teenagers. “That’s our base for the future.”

Howard Lauderback of Murrells Inlet, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, transferred carrots from a pallet to grocery bags a handful at a time. Church members also volunteer at the produce giveaways.

“It’s wonderful,” he said. “People are so appreciative.”

Bobby Jayroe, a volunteer at Outreach Farm, had the turkeys organized. That would be the last stop in the food line.

“The hold-up won’t be at this end of the line,” he said.

The giveaway actually started around 8:30 a.m., with vehicles already snaking around the church campus and back toward Highway 17.

No registration was required. People showed up, told the volunteers how many families they were representing and got an equal number of grocery bags and turkeys.

There were a few nervous moments as the stack of frozen turkey boxes on the pallet dropped lower and lower. Laura Swart, whose son Jack was one of the Cub Scout helpers, looked down the line of cars as she held the last turkey.

An SUV rolled up. Swart put the turkey in the passenger’s seat. It was the last vehicle in line.

“We just try to bring everybody together,” Bullock said. “That’s the magic. That’s what we do.”

The Baskervill Food Pantry has launched its Feed A Family for Christmas campaign. A $10 donation feeds one family. Donors get a card they can send to family and friends if they want to make a gift in their honor.

Donations can be made online at holycrossfm.org/donate-pantry. Select “Feed A Family” from the fund list.