The annual Christmas at Home toy and food drive got off to a bit of a late and somewhat slow start for its 16th year run, but last week received a tremendous boost from local Pastor Bobby Grant and the Feed America program.

The announced deadline for food, which was primarily donated by churches, and new toys was last Wednesday, December 4, with all pick-ups and deliveries to be completed by next Wednesday, December 18.

People on the list to receive assistance through the annual event this year are asked to pick up their boxes at city hall no later than the aforementioned date. However, those who cannot physically pick up their boxes will have them delivered by City of Albany employees.

Bro. Grant, who has been with Feed America for the past 26 years and has aided with commodity programs and food banks for a quarter of a century in Clinton County, said he saw the city was low on collections of food recently and wanted to help.

He then reached out to the area Feed America headquarters in Elizabethtown, which services a 42-county area, for help, telling them Clinton County was a poor county and explained to them about the annual food drive to help those in need.

In response, Feed America came through with enough food of all kinds to fill 300 boxes amounting to what Grant estimated to be over 15,000 pounds of food being donated to the Christmas at Home program here in Albany and Clinton County.

Grant, along with City Clerk and one of this year’s event coordinators Melissa Smith and four city street department employees took a U-Haul truck to Elizabethtown last Thursday, December 5 and returned the food to Albany City Hall for packaging and pick-up/distribution to local families and children who are on the list to receive assistance.

Food items donated to the local drive included (in cans, boxes or bags): tenderloin, cheese, cereal, eggs, peaches, grapes, apples, long grain rice, tuna, spaghetti, macaroni and cheese, black walnuts, peanut butter, lintels, Navy beans and 10 pound bags of potatoes.

Smith also noted that Save-A-Lot had donated vouchers for milk and monetary donations were available to purchase toys, which they were still short on as of last week, to use if needed.

She also noted that although Wednesday, December 4 had been set aside as the deadline for food and toy drop-offs, some items were still coming in from churches, individuals and others.

Usually, the program services around almost 400 families or elderly individuals and about 500 children benefit.

Due to the shortage of children’s toys, those can still be dropped off at city hall. However, due to some of the types of food that need to stay cold or frozen, it is important that all boxes containing food be picked up no later than the Wednesday, December 18 deadline.

Smith, on behalf of the City of Albany, who is the primary sponsor of the Christmas at Home toy and food drive, thanked Pastor Grant and Feed America for their help and generosity in helping families in need in Clinton County around the Christmas season.