The Glory to God (G2G) charity began as a way to spread smiles, and in just a few months they’ve given away several thousand meals to members of the community. The group was set up at Life Community Church on Saturday for their latest cook, and they don’t plan on slowing down anytime soon.
“We’re just feeding the community, spreading love,” said Matt Royal, president of the new nonprofit. “We’re constantly doing it.”
He and a team of cooks and other volunteers worked to give away 40 whole chickens, 600 breasts, 800 thighs and a few hundred wings — plus corn, green beans, a roll and cookies.
All the food is free. Royal said they don’t request donations, but any money they do receive goes back into the community.
“We don’t ask for donations, but if somebody wants to give one to us we’re good stewards of their money,” he said. “We put it back into the community where it was given. People might need something. They might need groceries, or someone may be laid off and they’re suffering. We’ll go help them.”
Many of the meals are served to people who drive through, but G2G also delivers them to nonprofits like the Daniel Pitino Shelter.
G2G also partners with other agencies to both spread awareness and give back to the communities. That includes anything from helping people know that the Safe Haven organization helps prevent infanticide and newborn abandonment, to working with Shepherd’s Hand Clothing Ministry to donate clothes to those in need.
“More people need to spread the love,” Royal said. “Instead of spreading hate and bad stuff, spread love. For young people that see it, it goes a long way.”
Since the beginning, the G2G Project has been about putting a smile on everyone’s face. As each car rolled through and each request came in Saturday, all the members of G2G were nothing but positive and happy to give back.
“People think you do it for attention or to be narcissistic. No. We don’t care,” Royal said. “I don’t care if you know my name. We’re just doing it for the smiles and to have fun.”
Next weekend, G2G will have another big cook in Rolling Heights. As long as they can continue to get together, Royal said the crew is going to do what they can to feed Owensboro.
“If we had enough smokers, we’d feed the whole town in a heartbeat.”
