Lily Transportation provided logistics support for the VA Boston Healthcare System’s annual Operation Turkey Drop, helping deliver more than $14,000 worth of Thanksgiving food and meals to veterans across Massachusetts.
For the fifth consecutive year, Needham, Mass.-headquartered fleet volunteers partnered with the Salvation Army to support the event at the Jamaica Plain VA campus in Boston. The company set up the logistics one week prior to Thanksgiving, positioning two 18-wheeler freezer trucks to preserve holiday meals.
This year, the program delivered more than 320 turkeys, pans, along with hams, pies, carrots, onions, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy mix, and other Thanksgiving meal essentials.
Mike Stanton, a veteran and Lily Transportation’s senior vice president of operations and compliance, worked alongside his team and other veteran volunteers to coordinate food pickup, sorting and delivery to two distribution sites on Nov. 22.
“This program is a very special one for the Lily volunteers who have braved the elements for a number of years to ensure that our veterans have a much-deserved and enjoyable Thanksgiving meal,” Stanton said in a news release.
“Lily’s collaboration and volunteer support — many of whom are veterans — played a crucial role in the event. The gratitude expressed by the veterans was heartfelt and meaningful,” added Joseph Tocci, supervisory peer specialist with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs at Boston Health Care for Homeless Veterans program.
