FORT PIERCE — Holidays are nearly all commemorated with a special meal. It’s a time for families to gather and share, celebrate, laugh, cry and make memories that will last a lifetime. For many in our area, though, holiday meals are a source of genuine anxiety.

Families who are among the working poor may not qualify for school lunches or food stamps, and other families simply fall through the financial cracks of the social services system. Fortunately, three times each year, Martha Taylor and the volunteers of Family Meals, Inc., coordinate outreach programs to gather donations of all the ingredients it takes to prepare a traditional family meal. Those ingredients are sorted, packaged and distributed to families in need, and it’s that tremendous teamwork and effort that caught the attention of the Dyer Difference St. Lucie Award Committee this month, garnering Family Meals the November Dyer Difference Award and a $3,000 check to help defray costs.

Taylor says that the goal of Family Meals is not to sustain families and residents throughout the year, but rather to provide three special holiday meals and the encouragement and ability to spend time together with family. She admits that many of the recipients of the specialty meals are hardworking members of the community for whom putting together a special holiday meal creates a genuine financial burden.

“Many of the individuals and families we serve are very proud and want to manage on their own,” said Taylor. “Our meal bags are full of staple ingredients which provide more than one meal. Often our recipients share their holiday meals with neighbors, extended family members, and friends or colleagues.” In 2015, more than 1,000 families were served by Family Meals, combining to create more than 4,500 meals.

Since relocating to the area in 2008, each month members of the Dyer Chevrolet Fort Pierce staff meet to review the applications that have been submitted and select one nonprofit organization to receive that month’s recognition and $3,000 award. For the Dyer family and the members of the Dyer Chevrolet Fort Pierce staff, it’s all about helping to make a positive difference in the community. For the recipients, it’s an acknowledgement of their tireless efforts to do the same and a much-needed financial boost to help further their missions.