Spreading the love with a free home-cooked turkey dinner for unsuspecting truck drivers

A homecooked meal is enough to make anyone feel better, even if just for a few moments. For those that live on the road, such as transport drivers, a meal becomes even more important. With the current COVID-19 measures, it has become challenging for drivers to access certain services. Sitting down in a restaurant to eat is a thing of the past that leaves fast food as the only option for many.

Back on April 12, a short 30-second video was uploaded to Facebook by Tyler Kristiansen, which showed him thanking an unnamed man for gifting him a homecooked meal. The man he was videotaping was dishing out a free turkey supper complete with all the trimmings. Shortly after being uploaded, the man’s name was posted in the comments, and from there the views skyrocketed to nearly seven thousand with over 200 shares.

The man serving the food was Dave Snodgrass. For those that know him, he is not one to accept the recognition. He is a “do it behind the scenes” type of person who would give the shirt off his back. This was made evident by the many comments on the video from proud friends and family members who were happy to see him receive a bit of recognition even though they knew he did not want any of it. By his own account, he just wanted to help.

As a truck driver himself, Dave knows what it is like to be stuck in a truck and miss the comforts of home. He is glad to be working and knows that the drivers he fed are also glad to be working and that providing the meal was a chance to say thank you and acknowledge them for what they do. “They are cooped up in a truck. They have family and friends that they can talk to on the phone, but they cannot just reach over and hug someone or get that comfort. They also usually work through holidays and miss out on seeing their families a lot. It isn’t an easy job to do.”

So, the day before Easter, he called his wife Carolin and told her to grab an extra turkey. “He said he wanted to cook for the truck drivers. He wanted to grab a turkey and extra veggies and bring them a hot meal,” she explained. They spent the morning and afternoon cooking up a storm together. “We made mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, stuffing, and gravy. He made buns too.”

Dave said that the drivers were shocked that someone wanted to provide them with a home-cooked meal for Easter. “Everyone worries about the groceries getting to the stores, but they do not always think about who got it there. Right now, with the virus, people are told to stay home, but truck drivers cant do that. They are still on the roads and making sure store shelves get stocked, and companies still work.”

The Snodgrass family knows how it feels to be surprised with help. Carolin was diagnosed with cancer in July and by December was deep into four rounds of chemo. “The chemo made me sick, and I was in the hospital for a while. My friend Stacy Crossland got a bunch of hockey parents together, and they made meals for us right before Christmas.” She said that many friends came forward to help or to offer encouragement. Thankfully, Carolin was given the “all clear” diagnosis at the end of February. She said she will always remember the outpouring of support they received. “You might not realize how meaningful something can be for someone, but being on the receiving end of that, I can tell you that it means a lot.”

The plight of drivers has been echoed quite a bit lately as more and more stories are shared about the struggles they are facing amid COVID-19 measures. Recently while at work in Fort St. John, Dave tried to walk through a drive-thru to place an order, and they would not serve him. Luckily, a good Samaritan witnessed it and went through the drive-thru for him, but the issue was a glaring example of how difficult it is to be a driver right now. Though he thinks the attention he is getting is too much, he does acknowledge that spreading the work will help encourage others to do more. “A seemingly little gesture goes a long way. Helping someone makes you feel good. That good feeling passes along to others, and people do not realize that. A good gesture does not stop; it keeps going on and on.”