Hot Holiday Meals

In Eat, November 2020, Web Exclusive by Lauren KruchtenLeave a Comment

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WEB EXCLUSIVE Lawrence Barbecue’s Jake Wood believes that everyone deserves a Thanksgiving meal, no matter what your circumstances are. Which is why he’s taking time out of his busy schedule smoking meats for Lawrence Barbecue’s pop-up at Wye Hill and prepping for their brick and mortar opening at Boxyard RTP (hopefully opening this January) to give out free Thanksgiving meals to community members in need this Wednesday at Killjoy.

Wood says that it made sense for him and his team to use their resources with U.S. Foods and local farms for a good cause and to feed folks for the holiday. One of the farmers they work with in Smithfield donated turkeys and many others have contributed monetary donations. Community members were eager to volunteer and help spread the word about it; Wood is expecting to serve between 200 and 300 people. “Which is awesome,” he says. 

Lawrence Barbecue will be offering both single serving meals and family-sized meals (about 4 to 6 servings) that are served hot but can be easily reheated the next day for Thanksgiving dinner. The menu includes turkey, Brunswick stew, ham hock green beans, sweet potatoes, cornbread and peanut butter cookies. “We’ve got plenty of food,” says Wood. “People will be able to get a nice meal.”

The Lawrence Barbecue team has been giving back to the community since the start of COVID. They offered free meals for hospitality workers during the first 10 weeks of the shutdown and donated hundreds of lunchbox meals to local nonprofits. Wood says the driving factor for his goodwill and thoughtfulness stems from his grandfather, who used to take day-old bread, sausages and other food from Food Lion and drop it off around town to folks who couldn’t go out and get food for themselves.

“This year has been rough on a lot of people, us included,” Wood says. “ We don’t have a lot to offer, but we know how to cook and we will always be willing and able to get folks a hot meal. We’re thankful for the community support that’s put us in the position of being able to do this.”

Lawrence Barbecue will be giving out free Thanksgiving meals for community members in need this Wednesday, November 25, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wear a mask and practice social distancing.

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