Several community organizations in Santa Clarita collaborated to put on the free “Thank You SCV Veterans” hot dog lunch this weekend which handed out 200 hot dogs to local veterans and their families.

Santa Clarita Grocery, local chapters of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, as well as The Guardians came together on Saturday for the first of two free lunches they plan to offer as a way to recognize National Military Appreciation Month.

“It was a huge success,” said Santa Clarita Grocery Director Bradley Grose. “We did 200 dogs and the community, all the veterans came and helped out, it was fantastic.”

The event offered free hot dog lunches to veterans and their families in such a manner to comply with existing public health orders and thereby give veterans a safe opportunity to get out of the house.

Among those that stopped by the event was the winner of the recent congressional election for California’s 25th District, Mike Garcia.

The various organizations coordinated their efforts without a hitch and should help prepare them for a potentially even busier second offering this Saturday with Memorial Day weekend.

Related: Santa Clarita Organizations Partner To Offer Free ‘Thank You SCV Veterans’ Lunch

“The American Legion is a local organization located in Newhall dedicated to welfare of veterans, community service and patriotism, and this event pretty much melds all of those together,” said Mike Merlo, commander for the Sons of the American Legion Post 507.

The event is set to make a return this weekend, from 11:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday at 21176 Centre pointe Parkway in the same parking lot as Oasis Garden & Patio Furniture.

“We’re doing it again this Saturday, and we’re having a World War Two trainer plane flyover at 12 noon,” Grose said. “They’re going to make a few passovers with smoke and should be pretty low.”

The idea for the drive through lunch was the brainchild of Mary Ackerman, a longtime volunteer with SCV Grocery. 

Ackerman is particularly connected to the military and veteran community through her nephew who is a member of the Air Force and through her work in hospice care, where she works with several veterans, and decided she wanted to do something to acknowledge Military Appreciation Month.

“The mental toll quarantine is taking on not just the ordinary ‘nine-to-fiver’ but the vets and military members that are not deployed and are home, potentially with PTSD or other issues, has made this a very unsettling time for everybody,” said Ackerman.

Attendance is expected to surge by as much as double for the second offering as a result of additional awareness and the Memorial Day, according to Grose.

“I just encourage veterans to get out of your house and come by, roll down the window, get a hot dog and choice of drink,” Grose said. “It’s simple but that’s what makes it work.”

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