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FISH will give out Christmas baskets on Friday

FISH, Friends In Sonoma Helping, will be handing out its annual Christmas food baskets for needy families on Friday.

The baskets will be handed out from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday at Hanna Boys Center, in the area of the new multi-purpose auditorium. Hanna Boys Center is located at 17000 Arnold Drive.

There are some changes in the food basket distribution this year. For the first time, FISH isn’t pre-registering recipients.

“It’s going to be first-come, first-served,” said Linda Stevens, FISH’s Christmas basket coordinator. “Last year, we had about 100 people who signed up but didn’t show up. There’s no point in making people register if they don’t show up.”

Another thing FISH will be trying for the first time is having people drive through instead of stopping and coming in for their baskets. She said the volunteers will bring the baskets out to the driveway.

“The drive-through is a whole new idea,” Stevens said.

Last year, FISH handed out more than 330 Christmas baskets, and Stevens said the nonprofit will be ready to handle about 350 needy families.

“Nobody will be turned away,” Stevens said.

FISH will also have pet food available for pet owners.

Toys will also be available, given out as usual by the Soroptomists. But the toys will only be available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday. And parents who want toys will have to park their cars and go into the auditorium.

Stevens said food collections have been very good this year.

“People have been very generous this year,” she said.

And while Stevens isn’t sure how the money donations have been going with the bell-ringers around town, she said that there have been a couple of generous donations.

Anyone who has missed the FISH food barrels can still donate. Stevens said if anyone wants to donate food, they can bring it out to Hanna on Thursday.

People who would like to donate money can do so by sending it to FISH, P.O. Box 507, Sonoma, CA 95476-0507.

“We’re looking forward to a very successful event this year,” Stevens said.