NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — As many are planning big, elaborate holiday menus, others are trying to figure out where their next meal is going to come from.
That is where community initiatives, like the "One City Celebration" food drive in Newport News, shine. Hundreds of volunteers gathered at the Denbigh Community Center on Monday to make sure families had enough groceries to make it through the holidays.
The food distribution is part of a 20-year tradition to give back to families who may not have enough this time of year. They also gave away gifts, bicycles and hygiene products.
"This is day that is dedicated to giving," said former Newport News City Councilwoman, Sherry Stone. "Some families told us without this event they would not be able to give any gifts for their children."
More than 100 bikes were gathered for elementary and middle school students, picked out by representatives from their schools.
"They know the kids that need the bikes the most, and that is what is most important to us, but all of this would not happen without the community," Stone said.
Stone started the initiative in 2002, and said since then, the need has only gone up.
Willard Maxwell, a Newport News pastor, lead the event today and said it was probably the most busy he's seen in years.
"We probably going to serve more than we ever have before, we usually serve five to six hundred people but as early as these people are turning out, we are going to serve probably at least a thousand people," Maxwell said.
Maxwell said they plan to bring the event back next year.