GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — "A Christmas meal, no questions asked."
That's what Eric Zane, of "The Eric Zane Show" podcast, sent home to people for the third year in a row on Thursday.
It's called the "Great Food Giveaway," held in Wyoming at Ervines Auto Repair Grand Rapids Hybrid and EV.
People drive up and drive away with all the fixings of a Christmas dinner: potatoes, gravy, rolls, pumpkin pie, and a holiday ham.
They also handed out meals for the furry members of the family, with bags of pet food provided by Grand Rapids Pit Bull Alliance.
"It happened so fast. We let people drive up, we put the food in, they drove off. And then that's it. It's pretty quick," Zane says.
Last year, 100 people got a drive-through Christmas meal. This year, that number has doubled to 200 families.
Zane, a podcaster and local radio personality, organized the event with the help of sponsors- Ervine's is one, and so is Meijer.
It's an event that Zane says is the product of community. "Every penny, every penny, it's just basically passing the hat around."
This year, he says the Jenison Meijer played a huge role in furnishing the meals and that at the end of the day, they'll be passing along whatever is left over to Kids Food Basket.
Zane says he's humbled, seeing how the event has taken off in the past three years, thanks to the help and outreach of his audience and sponsers. He's looking forward to continuing the tradition for years to come.
"And then so many people were like, 'oh, well of course you're doing it again.' It's kind of taken on a life of its own."
