Feed A Hero is a group dedicated to bringing holiday meals to Texans who had to work on Christmas Day. The organization went through nine different counties bringing meals to police departments, fire stations, and other first responders.
Feed A Hero founder Jim Searles calls their meals “happiness in a box.” This Christmas, according to Searles, that happiness consisted of brisket, sausage, and sides.
Searles started the organization in 2013 when his son had the idea to feed some Denton firefighters on Christmas. Since its origins, Feed A Hero has grown substantially.
All-in-all, the group delivered food to 300 police stations, fire stations, and EMS stations in North Texas on Christmas Day this year.
Searles told Fox 4 that Feed A Hero feeds thousands of first responders every year. Christmas is not “a great day to work,” according to Searles, but he believes Feed A Hero makes it better by providing barbecue.
Feed A Hero has been bringing the holiday spirit to first responders for almost 10 years. This year, the organization almost did not make it happen, due to trouble finding a refrigerated trailer to transport the food.
Volunteers worked on Christmas Eve to prepare the meals and then were tasked with transporting and distributing them.
Robert Ruwaldt helped out Feed A Hero this year and has multiple family members in the police force and Richardson Fire Department. He believes that this good work will come back to reward the volunteers.
“Any time you show love and respect it comes back,” he said.
Searles agrees with this notion, stating “our volunteers really show up thinking, ‘I am going to bless me some first responders’ and at the end of the day they are the ones who got blessed.”
This year, 400 of these volunteers participated in the organization’s work and showed their appreciation for first responders who give up their holiday celebrations to serve the community.