By Tracy Agnew and Allison T. Williams

With Thanksgiving getting ever closer on the calendar, two food giveaways on Saturday made the holiday special for thousands of Suffolk residents.

LeOtis Williams and Impact Suffolk both gave turkeys and sides to their neighbors throughout Saturday morning and part of the afternoon.

“This is such a blessing,” said Marvin Ralph, who was one of 2,000 who had vouchers to receive food from Williams’ giveaway. The vouchers had been handed out by a variety of community organizations who knew people who might struggle to have a Thanksgiving meal.

“You’ve got so many people that are out of work,” Ralph said, adding his hours have been cut back. He and his wife will have their three grown children over for Christmas.

Williams’ food giveaway started about a dozen years ago with 175 turkeys, purchased with his own money. It has grown steadily over the years, and this year Kroger got on board to sponsor the event.

“Having Kroger has been a blessing,” Williams said. “They gave me a great deal on the price of the turkeys.”

Ricky Green, manager of the North Suffolk Kroger Marketplace store, said he met with Mayor Linda T. Johnson when the store first opened and asked for suggestions on ways to help the community. She suggested Williams’ giveaway.

“He’s an amazing guy, and we think it’s amazing what he does,” Green said.

Volunteers were out in force. Williams said they had to cut off the volunteer list at 200. Some were helping recipients carry food, while others were organizing, tossing turkeys off the back of a truck or cooking food for the crowd and volunteers.

“It’s going great,” Williams said. “We’re blessing a lot of people. There’s a lot of happy faces.”

One organization distributed 350 coats to those in line, Williams added.

Over at the Impact Suffolk giveaway, hundreds of people wrapped around the back of Farm Fresh, steadily moving through the distribution line of foods collected by more than 35 local churches across the region. While the turkeys ran out early, people were loading up bags of canned goods — peas, potatoes, coffee and more — more than an hour after the giveaway officially ended at 11 a.m.

As Doretha Knight of Suffolk patiently waited in line, she expressed deep gratitude to Impact Suffolk.

“I thank God for this every year,” said Knight. “I don’t know what I would do for the holidays without this food. Pray, I guess.

“I thank God for this every year. It is such a blessing to families in need.”

Jackson Jones was among the fortunate who arrived early enough to get a frozen turkey. Jones said he has struggled to find a full-time job for the last six months and that Impact Suffolk is making a tangible difference for his family this year.

“Accepting help like this is hard for me. I have never needed it before,” he said. “But I am so grateful.”

Bill Horner, pastor of New Vision Church, gives out the power of prayer at the food giveaway. For the last 13 years, he has walked among the crowd, stopping to talk and, occasionally, pray with people standing in line.

“There have been some miracles take place out there this morning,” Horner said. “I just ask if anybody needs a prayer. I pray for them, put the word out there and let God do the rest.”

J.C. Oonyu-Gray Jr., a member of United Full Gospel Revival Center, said his family and church have volunteered at Impact Suffolk’s Thanksgiving giveaway for years. As he helped carry an elderly woman’s bags of food, he said he always enjoys serving.

“We have done this as a family for several years,” he said. “It makes me feel happy to be able to help others.”