Sarah Kinkin heard that there may be empty tables at Christmas in and around Spring Valley and issued an appeal for food.

Donors and businesses in eastern Bureau County answered – in a big way.

Under Kinkin’s direction, Grow Spring Valley mounted a drive to assist Hall Township Food Pantry, and the final tally astounded everyone. More than one and a half tons of food arrived this week to meet the holiday demand.

“I was hopeful, being that so many businesses agreed to participate so quickly,” said Kinkin, president of Grow Spring Valley. “I did not anticipate it being that much weight, though.”

It didn’t hurt that Grow Spring Valley decided to make a contest of it and hand out points for collecting nonperishable items as well as for creatively decorating the donation bins.

“Donations start pouring in,” said Nora Holbrook, a volunteer with Grow Spring Valley.

State Bank of Cherry won the award for the largest contribution with 598 pounds of donated food. The Judge’s Choice for Best Bin went to Casey’s General Store in Spring Valley. The overall winner, with the most votes, was the village of Dalzell.

Jan Martin, executive director of the food pantry, was astonished by the sheer volume of food that rolled in.

She put on her thinking cap to recall a comparable food drive, and the only one that came close was a “fill the bus” contest between students of Hall High School and St. Bede Academy.

Martin expressed her gratitude to the many people who donated, as the food will not only help meet holiday demand but also will ensure food assistance after Christmas donations taper off.

“I wasn’t as worried about Christmas because we have a fantastic community that helps us sponsor food for the holidays,” Martin said. “But what we get at Christmastime we save and use it during our lean months – January, February, March – and then we start with Easter, and people start giving again.”

But in the next breath, Martin urged donors to think about supporting the food pantry during the lean months, too. Rising costs and upheaval with federal aid have squeezed many families. Heading into Thanksgiving, Martin reported a personal-record 487 households during the holidays – and she doesn’t see demand falling off.

Kinkin said she’d like to see the holiday food drive become an annual event for Grow Spring Valley, a nonprofit founded five years ago to advance the city and help achieve objectives spelled out in its comprehensive plan.