The happiness generosity creates…The Tale of the Lloyd’s Barbecue Ribs.

In late February we received a call from a friend at Lloyd’s Barbecue offering to donate some ribs to our food shelf.  “Some ribs” didn’t do it justice.  Two days later we picked up three and a half skids, about 3,500 pounds.  And less than two months later, Lloyd’s called again, this time donating another three skids, an amazing act of generosity.  That was Act I.  In Act II, we had to figure out how to store 3,500 pounds of ribs.  Needless to say, we do not have the space required.  That’s when Knowlan’s Super Market came to our rescue and offered to store our ribs as long as we needed; another amazing act of friendship and generosity.

Now the story takes a turn.  In mid April a client was picking up food at the food shelf.  The last items to go into the bag were a couple of packages of Lloyd’s Ribs and the client began to cry, telling the person helping her, “You have no idea how much this means to me.  Monday is my daughter’s birthday and just this morning she told me she knew I didn’t have any money for a cake or a present, but if I could somehow get some ribs, that is all she’d ask for.”  We gave her some extra ribs and found a birthday cake in the freezer.

Here at Neighbors we believe that everything happens for a reason.  Is it a coincidence that Lloyd’s donated ribs to Neighbors, that Knowlan’s agreed to store them for us, and that this woman’s daughter asked for ribs the very day she was coming to Neighbors for assistance?  We at Neighbors don’t think so.