LEXINGTON, Ky. — God’s Food Pantry of Lexington held their annual 'Basket Brigade' event all day Saturday. Dozens of volunteers put together nearly 5,000 boxes of Thanksgiving favorites like green beans, corn and yams for families that face food insecurity. 

God’s Food Pantry is not your ordinary food pantry. In fact, the pantry is serving over 5,000 households in need this holiday season by packing boxes full of items needed for a full turkey dinner.

The boxes start on a long and bumpy conveyor belt ride and end getting taped up and placed on a pallet. The boxes then wait until a few days before turkey day to receive their bird and other perishable items.

Volunteers all over the Commonwealth were helping reduce hunger by taking shifts to make sure the goal of 5,000 boxes was met by the end of the day Saturday.

Several volunteers look forward to the annual event every year, but Mike Wolfe is first time volunteer for the event, getting a special taste of what camaraderie looks like for the greater good of the Kentucky community.

“We take this for granted, I think a lot of us do everyday, we do not see what is around us. We have all been through a lot over the last couple of years, and it does not hurt us to take a few minutes of our time to help the less fortunate,” said Wolfe.

Wolfe works for Churchill McGee, a contractor whose new project is helping renovate the God’s Food Pantry on Winchester Road in Lexington. Wolfe brought along one of his employees and of course his partner in crime.

“I have my wife Kim, she is down there running the tape gun so I tried to get everybody involved,” said Wolfe.

Mike and his wife Kim are a part of the first shift of volunteers. They have contributed to the over 40 million pounds of food disbursed at God's Food Pantry this year in Central and Eastern Kentucky.

That is something Michael Halligan, CEO of God’s Food Pantry is blessed to see.

“You guys helped us figure it out for the rest of the day, you did twelve pallets, 780 households now have a Thanksgiving meal ready to go. One of the most important parts of sharing Thanksgiving is about being able to help household’s gather around a table to celebrate their blessings," said Halligan.

“Families are going to have Thanksgiving dinner just in the two hours that we spent and then there's a second shift and then another after that. So just a little bit of time really makes a difference,” said Wolfe.

Boxes will get the final touches the week of Thanksgiving where they will be distributed at locations across the Commonwealth in Fayette, Laurel, Rowen, Floyd, Jackson and Clay county. Information for people wanting to volunteer for the final distribution can be found here.