Families get turkeys ahead of Thanksgiving
MIAMI - "I like the way my mom, she cooked turkeys good," Kayan Green said.
Green and his siblings love turkey, love the holidays, but more than anything, they love their mom.
"Thankful for a mom for how hard she works, and how she always makes us happy," Mariah said.
"She makes me happy," Jayla added.
Mom, Lorie Parsons, works several jobs to support her five kids.
"I do a little DoorDash, UberEats," Parsons said.
Instead of bringing others food today, she's on the receiving end.
"A lot of stuff is expensive right," Parsons said. "In Publix eggs costs $8."
Her family is one of about 70 pre-selected from the 6th school district to get a turkey, pie, and a bag of other Thanksgiving goods.
"These are challenging times, no doubt," School board Chair Mari Tere Rojas said, "And if you're going to get a turkey and all the goodies that they're receiving today, it's going to be costly, and some families simply cannot afford it."
Tere Rojas said families in need were identified and selected by the principals at every school in her district.
"Right now if you go get food, if you go get gas, you have to pay rent, insurance, and the list goes on," she said. "So this truly just makes me so happy to see how thrilled they are to be here how humble they are, and how grateful these families are."
The giveaway was backed by a handful of organizations like the PTA at Ada Merritt and companies like Publix.
"So hopefully, again, this will make a difference and bring a smile to their faces," Tere Rojas said.
This event was supposed to be for pre-selected families, but word got out and a line formed outside of the school, but because of the strong community support, not a single family was turned away.