Katy, TX. – Jeffrey Williams, a retired chef, worked at the Houston Country Club for 34 years.
This year, he decided it was time to pivot and while he continued on with his passion for cooking by helping the less fortunate.
This Thanksgiving, Williams is giving a whole new meaning to the phrase, ‘Love Thy Neighbor.’
He’s showing his love by handing out free Thanksgiving dinners and dessert from the trunk of his car. Each one was prepared and cooked by Williams himself.
“I love people and God has blessed me enormously, and I don’t want for nothing,” Williams said.
Williams created and launched “Old School Soul Food” back in 2012 on Facebook and eventually retired to do it full time.
His business is now all over social media.
The 54-year-old makes cooking videos everyday, and since he’s been featuring Thanksgiving dishes all month, he thought he should use it as an opportunity to give back.
Williams contacted the Westfield Villages HOA director and used the neighborhood app to spread the word.
“I told her I had all this food. Can we just open up the facility and give it all away for one hour, and that’s what I do,” Williams said.
While this is the first time Williams has done this on Thanksgiving, he has served hot meals to his neighbors before, during the February freeze of last year and during Harvey in 2017.
“He’s just an awesome guy. I mean, he’s doing it from his heart and for the love of the neighborhood,” Mary Bailey said.
Neighbors who showed up to the park and accepted the free meals immediately recognized how big his heart truly is.
“I feel blessed because my neighbors give us the food, so I invite everybody to come,” Ceniede Prado said.
“I wish I could feed all of Houston,” Williams said. “[Of] course, that’s not possible . But, if everybody can do their part, I think we can make a better place.”