MIDDLEBURG – Although everyone was served, including those who arrived after Feeding the 5,000 was scheduled to end, the first family arrived at the First Baptist Church of Middleburg at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 22 – four-and-a-half hours early. 

Their desperation was met like those who arrived seven hours later: with a warm greeting and an opportunity to ask for whatever rations were needed to feed a family without question or judgment. 

Families lined up in the parsonage parking lot and accepted a box filled with enough food to feed a family of five. Each box had a turkey, canned green beans and cranberry sauce and boxes of instant potatoes and stuffing and brownie mix. If a family said they had more than five members, volunteers offered them extra boxes without question. 

In addition to the First Baptist Church of Middleburg, Thanksgiving boxes were distributed on behalf of the Family Church of Green Cove at Clay High and in Starke. According to Executive Pastor Todd Jones, more than 1,450 boxes were given away across the three locations. 

The church started the program to honor God’s importance of trust and faith, and the power of generosity and to show that God can multiply a small offering to meet significant needs. It also highlights the need for compassion and the willingness to serve others, even when the task seems impossible.