Helping Hands food pantry and thrift store in Marion County is in need of food donations for their annual Christmas food baskets.

The food pantry assembles Christmas baskets complete with either a ham or turkey with all of the fixings to deliver to families in need ahead of Christmas Day. Helping Hands recently distributed their annual Thanksgiving turkey baskets, but now need help from the community to make the Christmas baskets possible. Helping Hands is asking for ham, turkey or monetary donations ahead of Christmas from the community. Anyone in the community or surrounding areas needing help with a holiday meal can go into Helping Hands and sign up to receive a basket to be delivered to them with no requirements needed to be met. Helping Hands Director Chuck Galeazzi hopes the community will get into the giving spirit.

“It is important for our community to be a giving spirit. Like I said at Thanksgiving, the food is important, and the money is important but maybe this will set a pattern for the kids in high school to say hi to a neighbor or shovel sidewalks this winter and just be kind hearted.”

Helping Hands is located at 110 W Main St. in Knoxville and donations can be dropped off on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday’s from 9:00am-3:00pm.