Members of Reliance Partners insurance agency welcomed truck drivers with boxes of pizza Friday morning at various interstate welcome centers in the Chattanooga, Tennessee, area.
Ronald Ramsey, chief commercial officer at Reliance Partners, told FreightWaves that handing out pizzas was the least he and his team could do to thank the drivers keeping America’s economy moving.
The transportation-focused full-service insurance agency, which is headquartered in Chattanooga, handed out 100 boxes of pizza at both the Tennessee and Georgia welcome centers along Interstate 75.
“We wanted to do a small part to show our appreciation for truckers by handing out free pizzas and waters,” Ramsey said. “They’re having a hard time because they can’t stop anywhere to get something to eat. They can’t exactly go through a drive-thru with a big rig.”
Truckers are even finding that some of their go-to truck stops and travel centers, which offer a variety of meal options, have closed their restaurants to curb the virus, thus forcing hungry drivers to look elsewhere for each meal.
“We know that they’ve got an incredibly tough job,” Ramsey said. “Most people don’t realize that some truck drivers are on the road for three to five weeks at a time. They have to take showers at truck stops and eat wherever they can find an open restaurant.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has altered daily routines for most Americans, forcing many to work from home and only rarely leave the house. While most of the country wouldn’t dare embark on a long-distance trip amid a viral outbreak, the men and women who keep our stores stocked continue to zip across America’s highways.
“It’s in many ways a thankless job and we would like to thank them for everything that they’re doing for our country,” Ramsey said. “Stay safe out there and keep rolling.”