SHAWNEE, Kan. — Last Thanksgiving, KSHB 41 News introduced Fred Dantzler and his larger-than-life personality.
The Shawnee barber opened his shop, Officially Chopped, in October 2019.
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“I kept telling all my people that I was working with, 'Man, one day imma get up out of here and imma make a change, imma make a change,'” Dantzler said. “And I’ll tell you what, it all paid off.”
Dantzler pays it forward through Feed KC. For the past six years, he has handed out Thanksgiving meals.
“Dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, green beans, cornbread, milk, eggs, butter, the foil pan, the turkey injectors. And the list goes on, baby," he said.
The giveaway was an effort between Dantzler, his barbers and his stylist.
All last week, clients had to pay for a cut with a turkey.
“The only way you can pay me: you gotta bring me some birds,” Dantzler said. “And all of them kind of text me like, 'Man, what you talking about?' I’m like, 'Man, you gotta bring me some turkeys.' That’s the only way you can pay me. If you come in here and you ain’t got no turkeys, you not getting a cut from me. We ain’t talking no Cornish hens, we talking them big birds, them butterballs."
With the help of 27 volunteers, Dantzler and company handed out enough food on Sunday to feed 160 families, a big jump from 15 families in 2019.
The drive-thru event was held at TLA Nutrition.
“A lot of the time, you have families with mom and dad working 40 hours a week, and it’s still not enough to make ends meet,” Dantzler said. “So, I look at it like the barber shop can kind of come in and take some of the load off their back and give them the opportunity to create memories with their kids and their families. “
Beyond the families he feeds, he hopes the effort inspires more people to come together and show love.
“We ain’t sitting over here fighting, 'cause like I said, we got enough stuff in this world that’s trying to divide us,” Dantzler said. “We gotta cut that out. Aye, everybody come together. At the end of the day, it’s always love.”
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