When life gives you supply chain woes, bring in the food trucks instead.
Global supply chain disruptions because of the COVID-19 pandemic have led to shortages of consumer goods, higher grocery prices and delayed shipping times. But organizers of Denver’s annual Thanksgiving food giveaway carrying the legacy of philanthropist “Daddy” Bruce Randolph didn’t let this year’s supply issues stop their commitment to feeding people in need.
In lieu of the Thanksgiving food baskets the Epworth Foundation normally distributes each year, the organization has raised money to distribute gift cards for groceries to people. The organization has given out 5,500 so far and continues to raise money with a goal of distributing 7,500 gift cards.
And on Thursday the foundation held a food truck event for handing out Thanksgiving dinners to people in need. Trucks from Mississippi Boy Catfish & Ribs and Nel’s BBQ & More idled in the sunshine Thursday outside Epworth United Methodist Church while people lined up for smoked turkey, sweet potatoes and pecan pie.
“We decided that we were going to help the people anyway,” said King Harris, the Epworth Foundation’s founder, of the organization’s strategy to pivot to the food trucks in the face of food supply shortages.
He said the organization provided the food for Thursday’s event, but the business owners donated their time to prepare it for free.
“My role is to be the pretty face,” he joked.
People attending the food distribution took rapid COVID tests provided on site, and vaccines and booster shots were also available.
Randolph, known as “Daddy Bruce,” opened Daddy Bruce’s Bar-B-Que in 1963 and started an annual Thanksgiving food distribution within a year. He put his own time and money for years into feeding community members.
Randolph died in 1994 at age 94. After his death the Thanksgiving distribution was taken over by the Salem Baptist Church and eventually the Epworth Foundation. The Denver City Council makes a proclamation each year to recognize his legacy.
Randolph’s son, Bruce Randolph, Jr., also opened a branch of the restaurant in Boulder, though it closed in 2012.
Rev. Ronald Wooding, who has been involved with the food distribution since 1995, said the Epworth Foundation learned in September that the Walmart that normally supplies the food for their Thanksgiving baskets wouldn’t be able to meet their needs this year because of supply chain disruptions. But he said hosting the food trucks has an element of nostalgia because Randolph cooked and served food for people on Thanksgiving in person when he started the annual food distribution.
“We decided to go back in time to the way it was done in the very beginning. So hopefully, it may turn into something we do every year,” Wooding said.
He said when Randolph was alive, the food distribution was a “festive occasion,” with people like local politicians, the Broncos and longtime owner Pat Bowlen coming out to help.
“It was more than just a meal. It was a festive day that day. So that’s what we’re trying to do,” Wooding said.
The foundation prepared to feed 500 people on Thursday. Epworth United Methodist Church Pastor Jeff Kanost said the Thanksgiving Day event has felt important because handing out gift cards may not feel as exciting to the people receiving them as a tangible food basket. The foundation already hopes to host a similar event next year, he said.
“It’s not about asking, ‘Who is my neighbor?’ It’s about, ‘How can I be a good neighbor to them?’” he said.
Denver Gazette reporter Hannah Metzger contributed to this report.
