Salvation Army gives food, toys to needy families

Between home deliveries last week and distributions Monday and Tuesday, Salvation Army of York officials say they will provide boxes of food to more than 1,800 York families this holiday season.

Each box includes a meat entree and "all the fixings," said David Pillette, director of the organization's social service program.

Families could register this fall to get a box of food for the holidays, and many also signed up to receive toys for their children, he said. 

"Donations were really generous this year," Pillette said.

Close to 2,000 children under the age of 10 were signed up to get toys, he said, with each child getting at least two presents.

The volume of food and toys distributed this year is about the same as last year's, but one thing is different.

"This year, families are going to be able to choose toys for their children," whereas in the past toys were packed up ahead of time with the food families were getting, Pillette said.

"It does make the process a little slower, but we feel that it's important to a lot of parents to be able to do that," he said.

— Reach Julia Scheib at jscheib@yorkdispatch.com.