Olive Garden delivers Labor Day lunch to first responders
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JACKSON, Tenn. — While many people had the option of taking a break Monday, some didn’t because their job is to make sure their community is safe. Many first responders work most of the holidays out of the year, such as the firefighters at Jackson Fire Department Station 5, and Olive Garden wanted to repay them in the best way they know how. “Every Labor Day, we pick and choose first responders to come out and feed the guys and the girls who is working on today,” Olive Garden Culinary Manager Antonio Black said. Black has been serving first responders on Labor Day for a decade, and the company is celebrating their 14th year with the Labor Day tradition. “It’s exciting. It’s just something that we do, and we do it from the heart,” Black said. “It’s something that these guys and these girls, they don’t ask for.” Capt. Randy Hayes has been a firefighter for 17 years and says he can’t remember how many Labor Days he’s labored instead of rested. “I don’t really pay attention to the holidays. If they fall on my shift, I work them,” Hayes said. “When everybody comes home and you’re around the dinner table and you share your day and what you’ve done that day, most families get to do that a few hours at night. We do that all day long.” “We really appreciate what they are doing for us today,” firefighter Charles Crane said. “It’s good to know that we have companies in the community that really care about what we are doing.” More than 800 Olive Gardens nationwide participated in the lunch deliveries. The company says they served more than 8,000 lunches Monday.
