Local agencies are continuing their spirit of giving into the holiday season by holding food drives for needy families.

Heather Macy, Executive Director of Tri-County Christian Crisis Ministry said Tuesday clubs and organizations around the community are helping the Tri-C to bring in food during the holidays.

"We've had a lot of smaller food drives," Macy said. "We've also got the "Friends Feeding Friends" sponsored by Lowes Foods through Starmount and Jonesville Elementary School, and we had the Mitchell River Saddle Club that just did one for us at Tractor Supply. We've gotten support from the Elkin VFW and we have over 35 area churches that collect monthly."

Elkin VFW Post 7794 donated more than 1,200 pounds of food collected from area grocery stores and $230 in monetary donations to the Tri-C during their drive.

Other than providing food, Macy said the Tri-C helps needy families pay their heating oil, power and water bills.

She said it is important people donate food year round but that it is particularly vital during the winter months.

"We usually max out at 20 families a day," Macy said. "But now just as it has gotten cold we see up to 30 to 35 families a day. I'd say 80 percent of the people that come to us come for food as well as power or heating fuel."

Macy said if food is not donated other support areas suffer.

"If we don't get the donations of food coming in through our drive or directly to the food pantry then we have to spend our money that could go to help heat someone's home or any of the other services that we provide such as utilities," she said. "As long as we have donations of food or donations designated to buy food, then we don't have to take it out of our budget to stock the pantry."

Warren Bates, chair of the Public Relations Committee for the Yadkin Valley Rotary Club and Director of Food and Environmental Services at Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital, said the hospital, Rotary Club and Elkin City Schools are holding a food drive with proceeds going to the Tri-C.

Bates said last year's drive collected 4,000 pounds of food and more than $1,000.

"Our idea is that we want to have a local food drive that supports our local community and makes a difference right here in the community," Bates said.

Donation sites will be at Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital, the Hugh Chatham Nursing Center, Elkin City schools, Foothills Family Medicine, the Town of Elkin, Wal-Mart, the Yadkin Valley Chamber of Commerce and Yadkin Valley Bank.

Bates said it is important to give back to the community and citizens that are in need. "Certainly those of us who are invovled in rotary and who for the most part have been very blessed, at this time of year it is a wodneferul time to give back to those that might be less fortunate and certainly we wnat to help with this community," he said. "One of the things that we talk about at the hospital is that what we do has purpose. It's worthwhile work and we make a difference and hopefully some of those same things come through in this food drive."

Macy said the help from outside organizations and the community has been outstanding, but reminds people that you don't have to donate food, people can also donate their time.

"We are getting great responses from organizations who have helped us," Macy said. "It has really been wonderful having the organizations to help us out with the food drives but people can come out and do their best and volunteer."