PHOENIX (AP) - With their annual Thanksgiving meal for disadvantaged students cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak, alumni from one local community college held a drive-through food distribution Tuesday so people can cook their own holiday dinner.
The vehicles of 100 students who signed up beforehand lined up in the Phoenix College parking lot. Masked staff and volunteers placed a bag with turkey, mashed potatoes, pie and other fixings in the back of each vehicle.
It’s an example of how traditional meals for the disadvantaged have had to be reimagined this year to prevent spread of the virus even as the ranks of the needy have grown.
“A lot of the students are focused on trying to figure out what they are going to eat” for Thanksgiving, said Monique Briones, a nursing student helping distribute food. She also signed up for her own family to receive food for a holiday meal donated by the Phoenix College Alumni Association.
Briones is living with her boyfriend, their five children and his parents during the pandemic.
Edgar Gonzales, another nursing student, also helped with distribution.
“A lot of families are struggling,” he said. “It’s an honor to help out other families because I’ve been in this position before.”
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