The goal of providing a full-course Christmas meal to families in need continues this year as Share enters its 40th holiday season.

The goal of this year’s Share A Christmas Dinner distribution is providing 250 food boxes packed full of enough food for a holiday feast.

“Warren County is designated as an economically disadvantaged county,” said Bill Zechman, a Rotary Club representative. “This means our poverty rate is higher than the state average and in many cases it’s chronic poverty. That’s when poverty is not temporary financial distress but a permanent way of life.”

The Rotary Club organizes the annual fundraiser in conjunction with the WCHS Interact Club and Warren County Community Interact Club. Financial assistance from the community is essential

Each box is loaded with food products, including a canned ham, eggs, cornmeal, canned items like corn and green beans, milk, cake batter and cake icing, just to name a few of the products.

It’s estimated to cost around $30 to fill each box.

“We expect public fundraising to be down this year as a casualty of COVID,” said Zechman. “We don’t think we’ll be quite as successful, although this program is needed more than ever. There are a number of people in our community out of work. Or they’re still working but they’re working shorter hours. For some families, the cost of housing is in competition with the cost of food. And for some elderly residents, the cost of food is in competition with life-supporting medicine.”

Anyone who would like to make a contribution can do so by mailing a check to P.O. Box 7001, McMinnville, TN, 37111, Attn: Matt Hash. Make checks payable to McMinnville Rotary Community Fund. Checks can also be dropped off at Cleaners Express on North Chancery Street.

For more information, contact Hash at (931) 808-0284.

Share A Christmas Dinner food box distribution is set for Dec. 18 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Three Star Mall.