VIDEO: Lowe's Helps Local Residents Have a Happy Thanksgiving

Some people were worried the Lowe's holiday dinner giveaway might turn into a free-for-all.

They could've breathed a sigh of relief Wednesday; not only were people nice and cheerful, there also wasn't a big line for the free meals.

"People have been really good," said Domenick Liloia, a Lowe's store associate who was out in the parking lot of the Woodbridge store to give out tickets for people to collect a free, family-style dinner.

Liloia said he had only given out about 45 tickets in less than an hour. The trailer held 500 meals free for the taking. It would take into the afternoon hours to give all the free meals away.

The company had initiated the program for 35 of its stores in areas that were hard hit last month by Hurricane Sandy. The idea was to give customers who experienced some of the storm's devastation a break with a Thanksgiving dinner, prepared by Boston Market, that they could just heat and serve and would feed up to six people.

Maryann Thomas of Iselin thought it was a great idea. She was there to get an easy to prepare meal so she wouldn't have to cook a big feast, and thus have more time to spend with her mother who is ill and in the hospital.

"It's a really nice thing they're doing," Thomas smiled.

Lowe's associates were hard at work inside the trailer, which was parked in the store's lot. They packed the individual components of the meals in bright blue Lowe's shopping bags.

Mayor John McCormac showed up to hand out the dinners from the trailer to the people showing up.

"Happy Thanksgiving!" he said as the store customers thanked him. 

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