Photos by Sam McIntosh.

Sixty-five holiday meal-kit boxes along with 30 whole turkeys and extra hams were given to Washington County residents in need Saturday.

This was the third meal-kit giveaway hosted by the Washington for Justice organization and the second annual December event, in which they solicited donations to purchase food for families to make their own traditional or Latinx style holiday dinner. Washington for Justice member Dan Henderson says despite rising grocery costs, they received enough support to exceed last year’s distribution of 63 boxes, “It’s actually been really, really successful in many ways. We’ve had more volunteers this time than ever, and people have come by and it’s been really positive. They’ve been able to pick up some holiday food, and I think we’re helping out some people in the community and the weather is starting to feel a little better. So yeah, it’s been a really good day.”

Around 15 community members helped distribute the boxes outside the Mills Seed Building in Washington on a first-come, first-serve basis. All were given away in less than two hours, and organizers remarked this method went better than requiring registration in advance as they had done previously. Washington for Justice thanks residents for their donations as well as Tienda La Morenita, Fareway, and Hy-Vee for their help assembling the meal kits.