By Barry Porterfield
The volunteer help was there, the deliveries went smoothly and now it’s onto round two for an annual holiday drive to get food to people who need it in Pauls Valley.
An official with the Pauls Valley Samaritans confirmed last week’s food basket deliveries for Thanksgiving was a record-breaker. Samaritans delivered 237 baskets. “It was an all-time record,” Samaritan President Lou Hall said. “There had never been over 200 before this.”
Now all attention is focused on a similar push for Christmas. Hall announced the sign-up to request a food basket begins Wednesday, Dec. 2. Applications for the Christmas baskets, set to continue through next week, will be accepted at the office of the Pauls Valley Chamber of Commerce, 112 E. Paul Ave.
This week’s schedule for the applications is from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, Dec. 2-4. Those same times are in place Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 8-9.
Then on Thursday, Dec. 10, the sign up period runs from 1 to 5 p.m. The following day and last for the applications — Friday, Dec. 11 — the times are from 10 a.m. to noon.
People requesting a Christmas food basket must meet certain income requirements, which Hall said matches those for food stamps.
With the high number of requests for Thanksgiving baskets even more community help is needed if the Christmas effort is going to be as successful.
According to Hall, that means plenty more donations of food.
“The food supplies have diminished greatly,” she said. “We’re asking people to continue to take donations to the chamber.”
The Thanksgiving delivery effort went smoothly, Hall said, because many volunteers helped out and jail inmates on work release assisted.
Hall credited Pauls Valley city officials too, who allowed for part of a city block to be closed off giving workers the space needed to get the deliveries organized and into vehicles.
“It worked beautifully. It was wonderful. It was a real community effort that allowed it to work so well,” Hall said.
