A line of cars trailed off the campus of the University of North Texas at Dallas on Saturday morning for the university’s annual Thanksgiving Food Distribution event.

The cars, which stretched onto Interstate 20, were at the event held in partnership with the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB), Tom Thumb/Albertson’s, and UNIQLO.

Elise Lewis got in line at 4:30 a.m. before the event started at 9 a.m.

“I have a Type 1 diabetic son, so preparing meals for him in a healthy fashion, it can get kind of hard and testing,” she said.

Organizers gave away food to 1,000 families, double what they normally provide, said NTFB CEO Trisha Cunningham.

“We want you to thrive. We want you to have access to food,” she said.

Cunningham said they knew there would be an increased need this year, after the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

“Even though those workers and those who were on SNAP benefits were getting their benefits restarted, they went for a period of time without them. So, we’re here to be able to help those families get back on their feet,” Cunningham said.

That includes families like Terry Britt and her son, Jeremiah, who got in line at 5 a.m.

“We have clothes, we got a gift card, and lots of food,” said Britt, whose family of eight was impacted by the SNAP benefits freeze. “It’s going to go a long way.”

Christy Lara, spokesperson for Tom Thumb/Albertson’s, said they also doubled the amount of gift cards this year.

“It’s our purpose to bring people together around the joys of food and inspire well-being but we know that that’s not easy when there’s not food on the table,” she said.

The gift cards can be used for more than groceries, too.

“They can also be used for other things, like prescriptions, medicines, cleaning products, healthcare products, things like that,” she said.

Japanese brand UNIQLO handed out 10,000 items of clothing at the event, part of their LifWear initiative to donate 50,000 items in the U.S.

“We have full outfit, we have beanies, tops, bottoms, socks,” said Seneiya Navajas, UNIQLO sustainability director. “All of this is our special technology called HEATTECH. It’s thermal, so you can wear it inside your clothes and be warm.”

Joe Pasada with UNT Dallas, which has its own food program for students, said they’ve also seen an uptick in need that this event helps fill.

“During this weekend, this week, or the next couple of weeks, they don’t have to think about splitting my bills between healthy food options or not knowing where the groceries are going to come from,” Pasada said.

Rojan Barrantes, who waited in line for over two hours, called it all a blessing.

“At this time, I’m not working and I’m retired, and it’s a blessing for the community,” he said.