Earlier this month, we told you about one Clifton restaurant's goal to give out 5,000 free meals over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
Every year on the day before Thanksgiving, Good Plates Eatery owners Jamie and Andrew Schlanser give away free meals — no questions asked. They opened their doors Wednesday, helping anyone who walked through their doors and asked for a free meal.
“This was by far our biggest one yet,” co-owner Andrew Schlanser said. “So we opened the doors maybe 11:15 a.m., and then it was I mean pretty much nonstop until about 2:30 p.m..”
The Schlansers' goal this holiday season is to give away 5,000 free meals in honor of their fifth year. With just Thanksgiving meals given out, they’re already close to that goal.
“We had enough food for 3,000 meals, and we’ll probably be close to that,” Andrew said.
The last time we spoke with Andrew, he told us that they needed donations from the community to make this happen. On Wednesday, he told us the community more than showed up for their cause.
“We couldn’t do this at the level we do it without the community,” he said.
That’s how it’s done — with help from the community, dedication and a lot of teamwork. Andrew and his wife/co-owner Jamie say they’re lucky to do it.
“It just makes you realize how lucky you are, we’re very privileged to be able to do this,” Jamie said.
She added that even those who take food want to help — bringing coat or scarf donations or offering to take out the trash.
“It’s just a cycle of kindness,” Jamie said. “I don’t know, it sounds corny but it really is.”
On top of the thousands of free meals Good Plates Eatery gives away, they also give away coats, gloves and hats donated by the community. According to Andrew, they began with around 250 coats this year, and by 3 p.m. there were only a few left.
But the work is only halfway done. Good Plates Eatery will be doing it all again on Christmas Eve — providing food, coats, and even gifts for free.
And they are still looking for donations. They say anything helps from food, money and coats to used or new toys.
If you wish to donate money you can do so through Venmo @goodplateseatery, or by dropping off a check or cash donation to the restaurant at 235 W McMillan St, Cincinnati, OH 45219. Coats/clothing, food, and toy donations can also be dropped off at the restaurant.
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