Planning Christmas Dinner for 1,700

This week the Itasca Holiday Program 2008 went into high gear. We have been planning for months to provide enough food for about 1,700 Holiday food boxes. This is a huge effort and we do it in addition to our regular work, which is also busier during the holidays. Thanks to the assistance of many volunteers, we will be able to provide this much needed program.

The theme this year is "Weaving the Community Together with Food." The inspiration for the theme comes from our annual commemorative holiday ornament. Local fiber artist, Susan Vann, has created a beautiful, hand-woven miniature piece with a historic star pattern.

The Itasca area community works together like interlacing threads to provide a holiday food box to families and individuals who are struggling to meet their daily needs. Children in these families are provided with toys and books.

Threads in many colors are are provided by this generous community:

• Social Service agencies, churches and other charities refer people in need
• Churches and businesses collect toys via the Gingerbread Giving Trees
• Many organizations have toy and fund drives
• Volunteers sort and pack toy bags and food boxes
• Site coordinators at nine locations throughout Itasca County and Hill City organize and distribute the toy bags and food boxes to people in their local community
• Hundreds of people donate toys and funds
• Second Harvest stitches the program together to produce food boxes and toy bags for local families and children

The Itasca Holiday Program weaves a safety net that feeds hope and ensures that our friends and neighbors in need do not go without during this holiday season of sharing.