Friends continue direct delivery of Thanksgiving meals to those alone, in need

Two friends are teaming up again to help folks living alone enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving meal.

Last year, as the pandemic highlighted social isolation during the holidays, Molly O’Brien of Fox Chapel and Bethanie Stein of Aspinwall started their own, small-scale effort to provide meals directly to people in need. They organized, packaged and personally delivered more than 40 turkey meals on Thanksgiving Day. And they repeated the effort at Christmas, serving even more.

This year, anticipating an uptick in meal requests, the duo are looking to recruit additional volunteer drivers.

Last year, a volunteer delivery team of five cars delivered meals around the Alle-Kiski Valley and Pittsburgh neighborhoods in the East End.

The women said demand for meals last Thanksgiving exceeded their expectations.

“We had anticipated maybe 20 meal requests last year,” O’Brien said. “We realized there were many seniors who were isolated from family and lots of folks who had lost work and were struggling with basic necessities like food.”

The women are seeking 10 volunteer drivers this season to meet delivery needs.

“We loved being able to support our communities last year, especially in the worst of the pandemic. The outpouring of support from volunteers and donors alike made returning for a second year a no-brainer,” O’Brien said.

The friends are covering the costs of all the meals, which they are purchasing from Giant Eagle catering. Each single-serve meal includes turkey, stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes and pie. It arrives cooked and ready for reheating.

O’Brien said interacting with the public while delivering the meals last year was meaningful.

“It was an honor to connect with them, to hear their stories and to be able to take one stress — a holiday meal — off their plate,” O’Brien said.

Contactless delivery will run from 8:30 to noon Thanksgiving morning.

Their focus this year is communities in the Fox Chapel Area School District — including Blawnox, Sharpsburg, Aspinwall — but they will try to deliver to anyone in the region who makes a request.

For the Christmas meals this year, they plan to expand into Westmoreland County.

Multiple food orders may be delivered to an address, although many of the meal requests come from people living alone.

To request free delivery of a turkey-for-one meal, click here. Orders are due by noon Monday, Nov. 15.

To volunteer as a delivery driver on Thanksgiving Day, click here.