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There was a discussion during the summer about whether the Jessamine County Fire District would continue its annual Thanksgiving food drive in the wake of the pandemic.

The decision, JCFD chaplain Billy Holland said, was to continue as there would likely be more need this year than ever.

On Saturday, firefighters and volunteers distributed food boxes to 130 families. JCFD Assistant Chief Danny Eades said the distribution functioned similarly to previous years, with the addition of masks, social distancing and handwashing stations.

“We’ve always done it as a drive through one of our bays,” Eades said. “If we could put boxes directly in their trunk, we would.”

Eades said there may have been more boxes handed out in past years, but there were plenty of new faces this year.

The fire district has conducted the food drive for the last 10 years, and has been organized by Holland for the last several years.

“Our team of volunteers have been working together for several years and we also appreciate the Gideons for coming out every year and sharing free Bibles to all who want a copy,“ Holland said. “I just want to say thank you again to all who were a part of this outreach.”

Eades said Holland oversees the fund-raising efforts. Those funds are then used to purchase food from local businesses, he said. Volunteers come in to help package the food and then distribute the boxes to registered families.

Each box contained the traditional essentials for a Thanksgiving meal: turkey, corn, green beans, cranberry sauce and rolls, along with several staples for the household such as eggs, milk, peanut butter and bread, Eades said.

This year, there was enough money left over to purchase additional food boxes for more families, he said.

The event was an overall success, Holland said.

“I did not believe the virus cases would have continued to increase to this extent, but everyone practiced extreme caution through the distribution and with God’s help we were able to safely provide families with a great Thanksgiving,” he said.