Volunteers are needed for the annual Wok with Friends to Fight Hunger event

LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) – The fourth annual Wok with Friends to Fight Hunger will be held Saturday, November 30th at 8:00 a.m

A group of volunteers work together each year to provide Thanksgiving meals to those in need. This year they have already had over 700 food requests and rely on volunteers.

Friends Hoang Duong and Zach Smith have turned two things they love, cooking and serving others, into something that is helping hundreds throughout the community.

“Every year my wife and I cook a Thanksgiving meal for our family and then we always buy extra portions so we can pack up the leftovers and bring them downtown to feed the homeless,” explains Zach Smith, the event organizer .

“We had a huge cart of groceries and someone looked over at us and said, ‘Hey, you must have a big family? Yes, we have that, but we also like to feed the homeless.” It was a complete stranger, and at the end she offered to donate $20 to help with that.”

That was the moment they realized what a big impact they could make.

“The next thing you know, all of our friends and family started making donations, volunteering to help, and we went from just maybe 50 people from home to partnering with Hoang, im next year, and I think we fed 500 people in the first year,” Smith says.

Hoang Duong is the owner of The Wok restaurant on Waller Avenue in Lexington.

“Zach reached out and said he wanted to do something bigger,” Duong explains. “We thought if we did it here we would have a safe and effective place and way to do it.”

Last year, volunteers cooked and distributed over 1,000 meals, including deliveries to the Hope Center, Light House Ministries and New Life Day Center.

Zach and Hoang say this day is about getting together with the people they love and helping those who need it most.

“Being here all day with our friends and family and knowing what we do is helping people. There are so many problems in the world, and it’s great to just find a way to make someone’s day a little brighter,” says Smith.

If you would like to volunteer or donate, click here.

You can also contact The Wok for more information.