NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A Norfolk funeral home is giving back to the community, just in time for the holidays.
10 On Your Side’s Walter Hildebrand was there as they handed out hundreds of turkeys to families in need.
“Today, we are just blessing our community. We are feeding families,” Jason Graves said.
About 350 families, to be exact.
For years, the Graves Funeral Home in Norfolk has provide baskets of food and turkeys to those in need. Monday in Norfolk, the family tradition continued.
“We started this 11 years ago, just something me and my family came up with to help our community, to give back to our community,” Jason Graves said.
Folks started lining up around noon Monday, some picking up turkeys for those who couldn’t make it there themselves. Area churches also came to pick up food.
“We reach out to various different churches and organizations, and they determine a few people who are in need and could use this meal,” Jason Graves said.
More and more seem to be in need these days, the family said.
“Some are so grateful. We don’t always hear from those people, but there have been times when other people have called and said, ‘I didn’t have anything, thank you so much,'” Mildred Graves said.
It’s not something you might expect from a funeral home, but the Graves family says they probably wouldn’t be here without the support of the community.
Because of that support, they’re giving back.
“Families are under pressure to provide things that they may not have resources to provide, so we just try to help them out a little bit and at least try to provide them a meal for Christmas,” Jason Graves said.