W.A.R.M. Distributes Thanksgiving Meals to 600 Families in Drive-Through Event
The Green Grape Report
Families lined Heatherdown Drive on Saturday morning, spilling onto the street and into the parking lot of the old Chase Bank building as Westerville Area Resource Ministries (W.A.R.M.) carried out its annual Thanksgiving meal distribution. By the end of the day, 600 families received a full holiday meal, complete with a turkey and all the fixings.
Cars moved slowly through W.A.R.M.’s parking lot, stopping at a series of stations that volunteers had arranged for efficiency and dignity. They left with butter and fresh rolls, as well as bags of onions, potatoes, apples, and cabbage. Another station offered canned goods packed in plastic bags. Turkeys were loaded into vehicles, along with desserts, coffee, and reusable bags filled with pantry staples. For children, volunteers added puzzles and small activity packs to brighten the holiday weekend.
The scale of the distribution was hard to miss. Stacks of foil roasting pans sat ready at one table. Nearby, volunteers handed out cases of margarine, piles of bread, and bags of produce tied off in crisp plastic. Frozen turkeys, still coated with ice crystals, were lifted from carts into car trunks. Every element reflected the same theme: enough food for a complete Thanksgiving meal, delivered with care.
Saturday’s effort is part of W.A.R.M.’s broader commitment to supporting families facing food insecurity. The organization operates several programs throughout the year to increase access, choice, and dignity for local households.
W.A.R.M.’s Choice Market allows eligible families to shop online for groceries and household items using a points system based on household size. Families pick up their orders curbside every two weeks, choosing items that fit their needs and dietary preferences.
The Share Bac a Pac program provides weekend and break-time meals to students at risk of hunger when school is not in session. Packs are delivered discreetly to elementary classrooms, while middle and high schoolers pick up food in private areas where they can choose their own items.
In the summer months, the Westerville Area Kids Lunch Club serves free weekday lunches to children ages 1 through 18 at 11 community sites. Hot meals, enrichment activities, and weekend meal kits help bridge the gap when school cafeterias are closed. No registration is required.
This year’s Thanksgiving distribution also comes during a moment of transition for W.A.R.M.’s leadership. After more than a decade as Executive Director, Ben Jay will retire at the end of the year on December 31, 2025. Jay has guided the organization through program growth, deeper community partnerships, and rising demand.
Chad Maxeiner, W.A.R.M.’s Director of Operations for the past nine years, has been named Interim Executive Director effective October 1. Maxeiner brings long experience with W.A.R.M.’s day-to-day work along with strong relationships across the community. He and Jay will work together through the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition.
Saturday’s distribution showed the impact of that leadership and the generosity of volunteers who helped keep the line moving as temperatures dipped and bags filled. For hundreds of families, the outcome was simple but meaningful: a complete Thanksgiving meal and the reassurance that their community stands with them.
The Green Grape Report
Food Review by Gary Gardiner
Kroger - Maxtown and Schrock
Brand – Autumn Crisp
Price – $1.99 a pound
PLU Code – NA
The Review
I’m starting to get complacent about grapes. I always do this time of year, when each week is a repeat of the previous, with a superb selection of Autumn Crisp grapes that meet the needs of someone whose nostalgic urge to relive a childhood memory sends him to grocery stores several times a week to look at grapes, touch them to see if they continue to be firm, check their PLU code, and remark to himself about the recent price changes and the differences at each of the local grocery stores.
For people who do not time their weeks by produce cycles, this kind of ritual might seem pointless. But seasonal habits have a way of sneaking into your life until they feel like routine maintenance. Grapes turn into small benchmarks. Price differences become tiny headlines. Even the firmness test feels like a private audit. What begins as nostalgia grows into a sort of personal beat reporting, where nothing is urgent but everything gets noted.
It’s obsessive. I know. But it’s less destructive than testing each week to see which blended whiskey has changed its formula or if cheesecakes are now using fewer eggs and more manufactured products to change flavor and texture, or to test each new flavor of Lay’s potato chips to see how they compare to last week’s offering, Pigs in a Blanket or Buffalo Wing. It’s been a long time since I ate a plain potato chip.
And maybe that is the quiet value of the grape habit. It keeps me occupied without sending me down darker aisles. It gives me something simple to track in a world full of things I would rather not investigate too closely. Grapes stay firm, or they don’t. Prices rise, or they don’t. Either way, it is a harmless way to measure the passing weeks until the season turns again.
The Westerville News is a reader-supported publication by Gary Gardiner, a lifelong journalist who believes hyper-local reporting is the future of news. This publication focuses exclusively on Westerville—its local news, influence on Central Ohio, and how surrounding areas shape the community.
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