Food drive exceeds goal
By Nathan Straus News Reporter

Starting November 17, the Spirit of Christmas Food Drive aimed at feeding 13,000 families by collecting and distributing food. The organization surpassed this goal and assisted about 15,400 families in the states of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi.

Alison Walker, communications specialist for Brookshire's, said a total of 633,000 pounds of food was gathered at locations around the country. Walker also said she has no idea how much money the food is worth.

"We helped 102 families in the Chandler and Brownsboro area," Walker said.

The food drive, which ended December 22, allowed people to donate at places like the Brookshire's on Highway 31 in Chandler.

Sam Anderson, director of public relations for Brookshire Grocery Company, said in a press release he appreciates the people who gave generously to help the less fortunate members of the Chandler Lions Club area through the holidays.

The Chandler Lions Club, a club designed to help needy people with eye problems, collected, sorted, boxed and distributed the food so the recipients would receive it before Christmas.

The food collected could not be homemade food or food in glass jars; mostly nonperishable food was allowed.

According to the press release, each family helped received at least one box of food containing items such as canned meats, peanut butter, canned vegetables, soups, pasta, dried beans, corn meal, flour and sugar. In addition, Brookshire's donated at least one baking hen per family.

This year 16,500 hens were donated.

"We were slightly up from last year," Walker said. "It's great that we're able to continue to help families at Christmas time."

The press release stated the overall goal of the Spirit of Christmas Food Drive is to help the neediest people of communities such as the elderly and single-parent households. Applicants for food drive assistance are screened by private relief organizations or even government agencies to see if they meet the required level of need to benefit from the food drive.

The food drive, which is now in its 26th year, originated in Tyler at Brookshire's. Since its inception the drive has gathered 3.3 million (now closer to 4 million) pounds of food, benefited over 150,000 families and has spread to cover Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi.