Carol Hoffman was surprised when she saw a neighbor unexpectedly dropping off a box of canned food on the front porch of her San Jose home just days before Thanksgiving.Before Carol knew it, her day was filled with a continuous loop of doorbell chimes and dropped-off bags of groceries from friends and neighbors. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
At first, Carol had no clue why people were delivering all this food to her home. It was only later that she learned her younger son Eric was the reason for this outpouring of generosity. Eric, a 19-year-old living with autism, had seen an email from his school on Carol’s phone. It was informing parents that San Jose Unified’s Liberty Advanced Career Education Program was hosting a Thanksgiving food drive for members of their community who needed help during the holiday season.
“So the email was sent to my cell phone,” said Carol, “and Eric always reads my messages and he read about the families that needed Thanksgiving dinner.”