Matthew Radecki and Christopher Fiegl will be handing out free “Thanksgiving Feasts” to 100 people from their business, “Hometown Rent to Own,” located at 203 Center St. in Salamanca on Friday, Nov. 22, from 4-6 p.m., Photo by Deb Everts

SALAMANCA — The spirit of Thanksgiving is about showing gratitude for one’s good fortune and giving to those who are less fortunate.

To give back to the community that has given them so much, “Hometown Rent to Own” will be handing out free “Thanksgiving Feasts” to 100 people Friday, Nov. 22 from 4-6 p.m. at their business located at 203 Center St.

Co-owners Matthew Radecki and Christopher Fiegl said people are not required to be a customer of theirs to participate. Everyone is welcome to attend.

There will be a table full of food items to choose from and people will be given a gift card to redeem at Sander’s Parkview where they can pick up their turkey.

New this year is a drawing for a $100 Visa gift card and a $50 Visa gift card. One of the local radio stations will be broadcasting from the business during the event that day.

Radecki said they started the business in 2016, so this is their fourth year of handing out free Thanksgiving dinners. He said they’ve partnered with Sander’s Parkview, which is huge, and the store has helped them out by selling them the food at cost.

“We want to help as many people as we can. If we run out of food items, we’ll get more from Parkview to be sure people don’t go without,” Fiegl said.

Radecki said anybody in the community and surrounding communities can come in for the free event, without obligation, and take food home to enjoy for Thanksgiving. If someone knows of an individual or family in need, they can pick up a dinner and take it to them. It could be for a friend, a neighbor or somebody else.

“There are many people in the area who might be in need and we want to make sure nobody is going without, especially this time of year,” he said. “This is a difficult time with Christmas coming up because people are saving for that holiday and they also have other bills to pay. Thanksgiving dinner can get expensive and some people don’t have the extra funds.”

Radecki said they do this event because, when they first opened up for business, they wanted to be all about the community that took care of them. In turn, they thought why not give back to the people who have given them the opportunity to serve them in the community.

According to Radecki, Store No. 2 is in the works, in Gowanda. He said it’s in early development and they just completed their business plan. They are hoping to close on it in the next six months.

“As we continue to grow our operation, we are hoping this second location will also be a western New York thing and inspire other people to give back,” he said. “As we expand, we’re hoping the Thanksgiving event gets bigger and bigger every year – whether it’s two stores, three or four. We want to give away 100 meals at every store location we’re at.”

For the fourth year, Radecki and Fiegl are sharing their good fortune of having a successful business. The two became co-owners of Hometown Rent to Own five years ago after becoming friends while they were working for a competitor. Radecki was Fiegl’s district supervisor when he was manager of a store in Salamanca.

Radecki said there are risks in any business, but they were given a great opportunity from their mentors, Randy and Laura Otander, of Ashville, who are responsible for helping them get their business going. He said if it weren’t for them, they wouldn’t be feeding the community, annually.

“At Hometown Rent to Own, we try to make houses into homes and keep families together by doing this every year,” he said. “As long as we’re here, we’ll do this event for years to come. When we expand to other territories, we’ll do it there as well.”

Fiegl said this event is not about them; it’s for the community. He said it’s very touching when somebody comes to him and thanks him for what they are doing. It makes him know they are doing something good.

To find out more, call 265-2080 or visit Hometown Rent to Own on Facebook.