Four years ago, Eric Zane never imagined that one listener of his podcast would be the catalyst for what would become an annual event.
“Saying, ‘Hey, I wanna give someone a Christmas meal. Can you help me spread the word about that?’ Just like one guy, one meal. So I really can’t even take credit for it.”
Since then, Zane’s Great Food Giveaway has become a holiday tradition where he and dozens of volunteers, many of them listeners of his daily podcast, load 100 boxed meals into the vehicles of those in need, free of charge, no questions asked. The meals are purchased by Zane himself and with donations from listeners and sponsors of his podcast, totaling more than $5,000 dollars. Zane says he hopes the event will continue to grow.
“When we see the faces of the people that come through there, they are so appreciative of what’s going on. It really is a motivator and it makes us want to do more and help more people out.”
Also available to those in need are bags of dog food and feminine hygiene products. Zane says that while they no longer need donations, if anyone wants to show up to help load cars, volunteers are always welcome.
“It’s a big showing to these people who think that there’s no one in the world that cares about them, and then all of a sudden you see as many people as possible lining the streets. So anyone can just show up if they want to be a part of it.”
The Great Food Giveaway is Thursday, December 21 at 3 PM at Ervine’s Auto Repair in Wyoming.
