Retired army veteran delivers home-cooked meals to truckers stranded on icy I-20

When extreme weather conditions left truckers stranded on an icy Mississippi interstate, a Clinton woman stepped up to ensure that they would not be left without sustenance. According to WLBT, Evelyn Fletcher, a retired U.S. Army veteran, sprung to action when she heard about the stranded truckers, some of whom have been on the roadside since Monday. "I was scrolling through Facebook and I saw a lot of these drivers on our exit that were stranded. We have this little incline and a lot of drivers last night, could not get up this little hill. I knew restaurants were not open... and I was just laying in bed at [around] 12 or 1 o'clock and I was like 'How can I lay in bed when there are people out stranded on this road,'" Fletcher explained in a Facebook Live.

Fletcher explained that since she had more than enough food at home to feed the drivers, she couldn't "imagine not fixing food and getting it to the people who really need it." She turned to the Let's Talk Clinton Facebook page to call upon volunteers to help deliver the food to the drivers, writing: "I just need someone with a truck or a 4-wheeler to help me get to them. If anyone has transportation that will get the food from Cynthia Drive to the interstate, the truckers will at least get something warm in their body this evening. I can imagine there are a few drivers who thought they were on turnaround trips."

"In about 3 hours I can whip up a full meal-meat, a side, vegetable, bread, a pot of soup. I have everything to include to-go plates, utensils, and cups for soup," she added. "Just show people who God is outside the four walls of the church because we go to church," she said. "We fellowship, but what good is it if we're not helping our fellow man and woman?" Fletcher reportedly cooked and delivered about 65 plates of food to truckers and families in nearby Clinton hotels on Monday. The following day, she was able to deliver more food after the owners of T'Beaux's Crawfish and Catering reached out to her with an offer to provide a shrimp plate, gumbo, and water for those in need.

Molly Kate Adams's family, which owns T'Beaux's Crawfish and Catering, cooked the seafood dishes Tuesday and packed them with water for the second day of food deliveries. "We just wanted to help the community out," said Adams. "Some businesses still struggling because of COVID. They don't really have the extra food, but if you can it's nice. If you can it's nice to help out but if you can't people understand that." Tracy Spivey and her husband joined Fletcher to deliver the meals in their truck up and down I-20 Monday and Tuesday. "Their reaction was our country is not as divided as people think it is. It was all different races," said Spivey. "The Bible says if we bless others, God will bless us."

Fletcher's generosity was widely praised by local residents on Facebook, including Katrina Bryant who wrote: "Shout out to Evelyn Fletcher. Today, she provided from the heart, to complete strangers that she will never meet. She started a community effort that provided immense blessings to many impacted by this weather event. To those who helped in Evelyn's efforts to provide, thank you for your efforts. May all of you angels sleep with peace in your heart knowing that you have helped provide unexpected kindness to those in need. You all make Clinton a better place."