A Maryland couple stranded on Interstate 95 in Virginia after a winter storm slammed several Eastern states helped distribute bread from a nearby bakery truck to dozens of other stuck motorists who also had not eaten for hours.
Casey Holihan and her husband, John Noe, were stopped on the interstate for hours while driving from their home to visit Noe’s family in North Carolina.
Holihan shared in a post on Facebook: “We were tired, frustrated, and hungry. Many of the people stuck out here had small children, were elderly, had pets in the car, and hadn’t eaten in almost a whole day.”
But she and Noe had an idea. At approximately 9 a.m. Tuesday, they saw a truck from Schmidt Baking Company ahead of them.
By that time, the couple had not eaten for about 37 hours.
They reached the company’s customer service line and asked if they could open the truck and distribute the shipment of food it was carrying.
Holihan admitted on Facebook that “we didn’t think it would actually work” but, less than 20 minutes later, the couple “received a personal call from the owner of the company.”
Chuck Paterakis, one of the owners of H&S Bakery, which owns Schmidt Baking Company, was on the phone. He soon directed the truck’s driver, Ron Hill, to distribute bread to the stranded motorists.
Hill opened the back of the truck and with the help of some people close by passed out bread to more than 50 cars who were all incredibly thankful.
Holihan shared on Facebook: “This was one of the kindest moments I have ever witnessed.”
Paterakis said, “it was an easy decision” and he was “very humbled and grateful that we could help.”