Nov. 23—He was one of dozens of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts late Tuesday afternoon carrying hundreds of bags of food bound for the homes of older veterans and disadvantaged seniors in the Bakersfield area.

Fourteen-year-old Noah Perez — exhibiting a maturity beyond his years — seemed to grasp exactly why he was there and the deeper meaning of the spirit of the season.

"The way I'm kind of looking at this event is I would want my grandparents to be taken care of if they didn't have what they needed," Noah said. "I want to make sure that all older people have a Thanksgiving."

Thanks to Bakersfield-ARC, six Albertsons stores in Bakersfield, countless Albertsons customers, other participating businesses and an army of volunteers, the Valley Feeding Project was expected to deliver enough food to make some 600 Thanksgiving dinners for veterans and seniors living in Kern.

"We are so pleased to once again have the support of Albertsons and Bakersfield-ARC, as we aim to feed more individuals and families than ever before," Valley Feeding Project Director Julie Walsh said in a news release.

"With the sluggish economy, food prices at an all-time high, and coming out of a global pandemic, delivering a (Thanksgiving) meal to seniors and veterans is more important this year than in recent memory," she said.

Organizers and volunteers gathered Tuesday at The Station, a facility owned and operated by the Kern County Firefighters Union 1301. Outside the building, a semi-trailer and driver from Advance Beverage in Bakersfield had just delivered a huge load of donated food.

Inside, long tables held nearly every category of a Thanksgiving feast: Big hams, mashed potatoes, bottled turkey gravy, packaged dinner rolls, apple and pumpkin pie and more.

Teena Kelly-Franco, store director at the Albertsons at Coffee Road and Olive Drive, has been involved since 2009 — and she was there again Tuesday afternoon.

Involving the Scouts, she said, really helps the young people connect to the older generation.

"The Girl Scouts are so much a part of this," she said. "They think about each dinner, where it's going to go, and the senior it's going to go to.

"Oftentimes we get to some of these places, and we'll knock on the door and a lady will come out from next door and say, 'Oh, I'm sorry. They're in the hospital or they passed away last week.'

"We had them on the list to deliver a dinner to them," she remembered, "but they're already gone."

They talk with each senior recipient to make that all-important human connection. They try to let them know that the community around them still cares.

Volunteer Stephen Walsh, the husband of Julie Walsh, stood near a trailer being filled with bags of food. He was scheduled to haul the load to the Plaza Towers, a large apartment complex in south Bakersfield.

Those who give actually receive, Walsh said. And it's a valuable experience for youth.

"They start developing an attitude of service to others," he said. "They get beyond just thinking about themselves and begin thinking about the needs of others."

Many elders are "shut-ins," he said. They may be estranged from family or simply don't have loved ones nearby.

"You should see the look on their faces when they open the door," Walsh said.

Girl Scout Leader Cuc Tat, the mom of both a Boy Scout and a Girl Scout, said her children and other Scouts are taught to appreciate what they have and to recognize that not everyone is so fortunate.

The giver is definitely receiving more than the recipient, Tat said.

The recipient receives food and sustenance, she said, but the giver receives the joy and happiness that comes with giving.

Reporter Steven Mayer can be reached at 661-395-7353. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter: @semayerTBC.