DAYTON — More than a thousand cars lined the road for a local foodbank drive-thru that provided Thanksgiving for people in need.
The AES Ohio Foundation provided 80 thousand pounds to help the community.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
TRENDING STORIES:
- Questions about snow returning to the Valley
- 25-year-old man dies after motorcycle hits van in Ohio
- Police searching for 2 women accused of stealing items from Ulta Beauty
Families who received food said the event was a Godsend because the holidays would have looked different without it.
Mary Martin is retired and was making ends meet by sharing expenses with her brother.
She said her brother just recently passed away, making her finances tighter.
“He brought in more than I did; I got to pinch pennies to make sure I make rent,” said Martin.
AES Ohio said stories like Martin’s are ones they want to fund during this special holiday distribution.
“We’re going on 20-plus years of our partnership with the Dayton Foodbank,” said Brian Hylander, AES Ohio Foundation Chairman.
Hylander said AES isn’t just funding the 80 thousand pounds of food, but also bringing three dozen volunteers to load all the cars.
“It can be emotional at times, you see the number of people and the need in the community, and just doing this little part, giving a nice moment of Thanksgiving moments is really special,” said Hylander.
Lora Fisher from Dayton said that she is a disabled Air Force veteran who is living on a pension.
“This is a wonderful blessing,” said Fisher.
Fisher sat in line for hours to receive her donations.
The line snaked off Germantown Pike and around several blocks just to get to the Foodbank.
This drive-thru is the Foodbank’s last distribution before Thanksgiving.
They will host one more before Christmas before they resume their mass distribution sometime after the first of the year.
[SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
