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We all know there are people in need at Christmas time, and we donate non-perishable food, toys and gifts to help out.

But once we've done our part, what happens next?

That's when the volunteers with Kincardine Community Services and the Christmas hamper committee take over.

About 15 volunteers were found Wednesday morning, busily packing hampers in the parish hall at St. Anthony's Church. They had already packed bags of toys, gifts and clothing separately, and were now working on the food part of the hampers.

Co-ordinator Anne Gibson says it's a lot of work but it's rewarding work, knowing they're helping individuals and families in need this Christmas.

And the need has increased, to 129 hampers this year from 108 last year.

Gibson has a system in place for the volunteers to quickly and efficiently fill the boxes with a variety of food, sufficient for each hamper.

"We give each volunteer a hamper number," she says. All the information about the recipients is kept confidential, but the number comes with a list of adults and children who will receive that hamper. There is also a guideline to help determine how much of each food product to put in the hamper.

From there, the volunteers go shopping among the stacks of beans, stew, pasta, sauce, peanut butter, crackers, etc., selecting items for the hamper, and filling boxes.

"Zehrs was very helpful, storing all these boxes for us," says Gibson. "And Homefront Acres (located on Highway 21 across from Pine River Cheese, south of Kincardine) has donated apples for all the hampers."

There are donated gift cards for teenagers, and food vouchers for each family. Gibson says the amount on each voucher is determined by how many adults and children are in each family - $30/adult and $15/child.

In addition, the Shoreline Conservationists and Wild Turkey Association donates toward providing turkeys for the hampers. Gibson says the hamper committee can purchase 15 20-pound turkeys for a $300 donation. The turkeys go in the hampers for the larger families.

Plus, The Beef Way donates 15 fresh hams, and there are also canned hams. These go into the hampers for smaller families.

The community is very generous, says Gibson, in helping provide food, toys and gifts for the hampers, and the monetary donations are a great benefit, helping to provide items that are not included in the donations.

And the annual Kincardine District Secondary School Christmas Knights' annual food and toy drive is a great boost to the hamper committee, gathering a tremendous stock of goods. Any extra food will be sent to the Kincardine Food Bank.

Volunteers began Monday and Tuesday sorting the toys, clothes and gifts for the hampers. Wednesday and Thursday, they sorted the food items, and the hampers were ready for pick-up Friday (Dec. 16).

"We really enjoy doing this," says Gibson. "It's part of the spirit of Christmas for us."

Volunteer Kate Binnendyk fills a box with non-perishable food

Volunteers John Melinz (L) and Marcel Dorey get ready to fill more boxes with food

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Thursday, December 15, 2011