By Melanie Patterson

The North Jefferson News



A Warrior business is thanking the community on Thanksgiving by giving to those who need it most.

The White House Restaurant will hand out 200 free boxed lunches on Thursday on a first-come, first-served basis.

“We’ve been so blessed since we opened up after the fire,” said White House manager Sharon Corley. “We just want to give back.”

The restaurant re-opened on Sept. 10 after being severely damaged by fire on Feb. 17.

White House owner James Pope said there has been a tremendous response since September and he wants to thank the community.

“In the last year there have been so many people laid off,” Pope said. “People just don’t have as much as they did a year or so ago. People are in need right now.”

Corley said she started out by contacting schools and churches to get referrals for people who could us a free meal on Thanksgiving.

“We only got about 100 people that way,” she said. But the restaurant wanted to do more, so it opened the offer up to the public.

“We did the schools first because we wanted to make sure we have families with children taken care of,” Corley said. “We’re just hoping people don’t take advantage of it.”

The White House will start giving away the boxed lunches at 10:30 a.m. The meals will include chicken and dressing, green beans, corn, bread and dessert.

“People can just come in and we’ll give them a plate,” Corley said. Residents from across north Jefferson County are invited.

Corley said White House employees are excited about the event, and even volunteered to make or buy some of the desserts. Employees’ families also volunteered to help on Thursday.

Area businesses have donated money and food to help with the give-away.

“The people here at work are wanting to do it because we’re blessed that we have jobs,” Corley said. “We’re already thinking about what we can do for Christmas.”

The White House Restaurant is located at 9830 Hwy. 31 in Warrior.