By Catharina Thuemling

The holiday season is near but not all families are blessed to celebrate Thanksgiving and other upcoming holidays with a table filled with food.

But neighbors stepped up for some needy families thanks to the 15th annual food drive. On Nov. 20, Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz handed out a bundle of collected food items to the Kingsbridge Heights Community Center and Saint Francis of Rome Church in Wakefield.

Dinowitz’ district office served as a donation site with local businesses, schools and neighbors dropping off non-perishable food items. This year they collected not only 20 turkeys that were donated by Kelly Ryan’s Bar and Restaurant, but also piles of canned, boxed and dried food items that were almost exclusively collected by the students and staff of the schools PS7 and PS81.

“People are really generous. We’ve been doing this for many years now. Some years are tougher than others but people who are generous tend to be generous even in tough times,” Dinowitz said.

Economic hardships have driven families to visit their local pantries so much that demand has gone up drastically.

“And even with the economy getting better now, it really is not getting better for people who are less well off. So it’s kind of lacks behind. So this is just another way for us to do our share,” said Dinowitz.

The Assemblyman’s district office collects donations for the holidays that include Christmas and Hanukahh. They began to collect food on Nov., with the latest drives for the holidays ending on Dec. 15 at Dinowitz’ office, 3107 Kingsbridge Avenue.