Fave Five: Truckers met with free lunch, cheers from Tucson community members

— Shaq Davis

Commercial truckers from around the U.S. left Tucson’s Triple T Truck Stop with smiling faces Thursday after receiving free lunch from community members who banded together to support them.

Truckers were greeted with signs saying “We Love Truckers” and “You keep us moving” as volunteers cheered them on for their work.

The idea for the event was put together two weeks ago by Michael Quinn, Kent Bauman and another neighbor who all attend Alive Church in Tucson and decided they could lend a hand during the coronavirus pandemic.

What was initially an idea to provide around 50 sandwiches to truckers turned into an operation where $3,000 has been raised and hundreds of truckers have the opportunity for a free lunch.

“I said I’d like to help these medical workers, who are nothing short of heroes with what they’re doing, but there’s a lot of people helping them, and we can help them, too,” Quinn said, “but what about our nation’s truckers that are keeping the supply chain going and keeping food in our supermarkets and medical supplies in our hospitals?”

Bauman, who owns an automobile transport trucking firm, knew firsthand what truckers can go through while on the job.

“There’s still parts of the economy that are still trying to run, and we’re really, very dependent on trucks, everything people buy, everything we use moves on a truck, maybe even two or three trucks to get from the factory or the farm in to retail,” Bauman said. “We just appreciate the sacrifices these guys have been making.”

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