INGRAM, Pa. — At the Bridge City Barber Company, near the Crafton-Ingram Shopping Center, it’s all about hometown pride and community.
Owner Cody Sheets thought, “What better way to give back than to collect donations for Thanksgiving dinner?”
The response has been fantastic.
It started as a food pantry during last month’s government shutdown and the lapse of SNAP benefits. Sheets decided his company wasn’t done helping families in need.
“It’s just kind of taken on a life of its own,” Sheets said. “We’ve got all kinds of stuff.”
Round two: collecting frozen turkeys for Thanksgiving boxes, complete with all the fixings.
“Gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, stuff like that…anything that would go with your typical Thanksgiving dinner,” Sheets said.
So far, Sheets has three freezers full of about 50 turkeys, but he’s hoping to gather even more. It’s a final push for donations this Friday and Saturday before the big distribution of boxes on Sunday, November 23.
It will take place at Crafton Park’s Steuben Street parking lot from noon to 2 p.m.
It’s a first-come, first-served drive-thru event with no questions asked.
“I know what it’s like to kind of struggle, you know, when I was growing up, there were moments where things were tight,” Sheets said.
The barber company has been in business for a year and a half.
Sheets said his platform and storefront serve as an opportunity to help others, but says none of this is possible without the help of his customers and even complete strangers.
“I think it makes us a perfect candidate to do something like this. We’re connected to the community in a way that maybe other businesses aren’t,” Sheets said.
Sheets is encouraging anyone who is able to drop off donations during normal business hours on Friday (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) or Saturday (8 a.m. to 2 p.m.) before Sunday’s distribution.
Bridge City Barber Company is located on Maxwell Street.
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