Let's Get This Bread (Literally)

An unexpectedly harsh winter storm ran through the East Coast last week, stranding hundreds of cars on an icy highway in Virginia for more than 24 hours.

🎬 Setting the scene... Casey Holihan and her husband, John Noe, were stuck in one of those cars. Our story starts after the duo had already been stuck for 20 hours and spent the night sleeping in their car. Temperatures were dropping into the twenties.

On top of that, Casey and John – along with the hundreds of families in the surrounding vehicles – had no access to food or water. All of the nearest towns within walking distance were out of power. 

• Casey shared that by that point, "We were tired, frustrated, and hungry." (And that may be putting it lightly...)

🍿 Scene, set. Roll the opening credits... About 20 hours into the jam, the couple spotted a bakery truck up ahead of them. It was in that moment, with stomachs growling loudly, that they got the idea to take matters into their own hands. 

Casey called the number on the truck and left a voicemail for customer service, explaining their situation and asking if there was any way they could open the vehicle to distribute food to the surrounding cars. 

Her phone rang soon after, and she was shocked to hear the company owner, Chuck Paterakis, on the other end, who contacted the truck driver and told him to open up the back. And what do ya know – a few minutes later, the driver opened the trailer to reveal hundreds of loaves of bread and rolls. 

• "We didn't think it would actually work," Casey said in a Facebook post. "But less than 20 minutes later, we got an incredible surprise." 

🥖 It was time to get to work... Over the next few hours, Casey, John, and the truck's driver, Ron Hill, distributed more than 300 loaves to their fellow stranded souls – some of whom had been stuck for 35+ hours. 🤯

• "It felt incredible just hearing people say thank you and hearing people just so relieved to finally have food in their car, food in their system and in their kids' system," Casey said of the experience. "It was a really incredible feeling."

💬 What they're saying: The company may have lost its profit, but Chuck, its owner, was happy to pay it forward.

• "I'm so pleased that the people who were hungry that hadn't eaten for the past 24 hours had a chance, even if it was bread, to fill their stomachs up," he shared. "It was very gratifying to me. It was something I will always remember."