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82 families receive meal baskets

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With the help of 30 to 35 local volunteers, members of the Albany Ministerial Alliance distributed almost all of the 82 requested Christmas baskets on Sunday, Dec. 16.

Last week, Nancy Smith Elementary School sixth grade students divided the canned goods and other staples into the bags. 

Workers at The Feed Store assembly location on Sunday afternoon added perishable items to finish filling the food baskets. 

“It was all so well organized that everyone was loaded and out the door in less than 20 minutes,” said Ministerial Alliance treasurer Carolyn Waller. 

Feed Store executive director and Alliance member Tisha Wilkins had a folder for each of the 10 delivery routes, with the addresses and a map showing each of the stops on that route. 

“It all went very well,” said Wilkins. “We had a great number of volunteers.”

Eight recipients had chosen to pick up their basket at various local churches or at The Feed Store. Thirty-six baskets were delivered in Moran. The remaining 34 were distributed in Albany. 

“Four families were not at home, and their baskets were returned to The Feed Store,” said Wilkins on Monday. “We have been able to contact three of those families, and they have picked up their food. I am still trying to reach the fourth family.”

Just over $470 was spent for the cooked turkey breast purchased from Sam’s, but since the bill from Brookshire’s Food Store was still pending, the total amount spent on the Christmas food baskets this year had not yet been determined, according to Waller.

Baskets included either a whole uncooked turkey, a pre-cooked turkey breast, or a pre-cooked ham. Other food items in the boxes completed the menu for a typical Christmas meal. 

Contribution toward next year’s Christmas Basket Ministry can be made by mailing a check, with the memo notation: “Christmas Basket Ministry” to the Albany Ministerial Alliance at PO Box 3084, Albany TX 76430 or people can contribute through churches of the Alliance.