Mark Hackley of the Blue Ridge area food bank says that the food bank covers a large area of the Valley and donations this year were key to bringing food to needy families.

We've been pushing food drives for the year and this year we actually collected over 90,000 pounds in the month of November which is a big increase over last year-a huge increase.

With the large amount of donations in November alone, Hackley hopes that people will continue to give throughout the holiday season because the number of people needing help increases every year.

The number of people who have come to our food bank for help has risen dramatically in November. 22 percent more people came to our food banks then last year.

Hackley says that the food bank will take any sort of canned or packaged food which must be new and unused. The food bank is located on Laurel Hill Road in Verona. That’s where families can get help with their holiday meals.

We also need to get the word out, especially around Christmas time when people are helping one another; we need to get the word out that we are here to help people.