Single mother of 60 foster children provides Thanksgiving meals

SMITHS GROVE, Ky. – Some would say Smith’s Grove Verta Murrell is a saint, and they’d probably be right. The single mother of 60 foster children has taken altruism to a new level over the last decade.

Verta spends her Thanksgiving mornings driving streets of Smiths Grove distributing home-cooked turkeys and ham to the local homeless community and elders who live alone.

“We’re supposed to give,” Verta said simply. “That’s what God would like us to do is to give and help one another.”

Verta says she started ‘JDs BBQ Love Gift’ because she knows what it’s like to not have a warm dinner and bed at home.

“When you’ve done been in a situation of being homeless and hungry it’s a whole lot to think about. There’s a whole lot of folks out there in need, and we’re supposed to give. That’s what God would like us to do is to give and help one another.”

Owner of JD’s BBQ Jesse ‘JD’ Anderson has joined Verta with ‘JDs BBQ Love Gift’ for the last three years.

He said when he and Verta hand out the meals, the population says they, “appreciate them. You know, most of the people that are homeless in the senior citizens and we deliver to them they just say ‘Thank you so much and God bless you.'”

Over the last nine years, Verta’s bought the food out of her own pocket. Last Thanksgiving when Smiths Grove police Chief Jason Frank’s got a whiff of what she was up to, he bought 20 turkeys and spread the word.

This year Houchens’ Crossroads IGA supplied 10 turkeys and 10 hams to Verta free of charge

Verta said, “The Lord makes a way. Just to see them be able to eat, that’s a blessing right there.”

Monday morning, Verta and JD plan to get to work cooking, because they say there’s a lot of folks in Smiths Grove who need food and love this Thanksgiving.