T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA Ray Duane spends his day volunteering with Ideal Provisions to provide free meals and clothing to residents of the Ohio Valley.

BRIDGEPORT — Ideal Provisions hosted its annual Thanksgiving giveaway this week, providing meals to help feed the hungry and clothes to help keep them warm.

The holiday season meal and clothes giveaway took place leading up to Thanksgiving in the parking lot of Just JAC’s which Ideal Provisions calls home.

Owner Dean Barath said that he began doing the annual event 10 years ago as a way to give back to the community during the holiday season. He said that when he began, he would donate clothes and food to the Youth Services System in Wheeling.

“We used to do it over there and provide a couple hundred meals. We teamed up with Shreff’s Barbeque a couple of years, and the original owner of Chuckwagon Chicken,” Barath said. “I just like giving back a little bit every year. We take donations throughout the year so we can give back during the Thanksgiving and Christmas time of year.”

He said that last year’s holiday giveaway was the biggest yet.

“We went a little bit crazy last year, we gave away propane tanks, clothes, and diapers,” Barath said.

“We gave away over 40 propane tanks, it was a madhouse last year,” He said.

The meals were made by the food truck but the clothes were donated by the Oil and Gas Safety Supply Store located in St. Clairsville. Barath said any clothes not claimed will be donated to various community shelters and organizations.

Although donations are accepted during the entire year, he said that 95% of the donations received to be able to provide for the giveaways to the community are in November.

“We raise a couple hundred dollars throughout the year to help defray the cost of meals but we try to go off if we sell 300 meals we give away 300 meals,” Barath said. “We make enough off the food cost to not really lose money but it’s not really about the money it’s about giving back and making sure everybody gets a meal.”

He proceeded to thank everybody who supports the food truck throughout the year saying that he wouldn’t be able to be in business for the past 13 years if it wasn’t for the support he receives from the community.

“We’re a community-based business and we wouldn’t be in business if people weren’t supporting us,” Barath said. “We couldn’t give back without that support.”

Barath’s friend Ray Duane spent his week volunteering his time helping with the week of giving.

“I hope everybody remembers the people that are less fortunate than they are,” Duane added.

He then said that he helps because he believes in the Barath family and wants the community to know that Barath does this out of the kindness of his heart.

“Dean is an amazing human being and he gives so much back to this community,” he said.