The Bluffton Community Assistance Program is busy at this time of year. Here’s a chat the Icon had with Jami Crawfis, who directs the program's food pantry.

Jami, are there families in the service area of the food pantry in need of assistance at Christmas?
In all, we have 68 families already adopted. We have six individuals still to adopt.

The adopting families will provide fresh, frozen and/or canned food items (or even gift cards to a grocery store) for each family as well as gifts from their wish list.

How does someone or a group adopt a family for Christmas?
If an individual, family, group, organization or business wants to adopt a family they should contact me at 419-236-2944 or via e-mail at crawfis@hotmail.com

What is the deadline to sign up?
As soon as possible.

What are the food and gift donation requirements?
There is no specific requirement. We do request that the adopting persons provide food for a Christmas dinner or a gift card to purchase food for a dinner for that particular family or individual and about a week's worth of groceries to help them through the end of the month. Anything else is totally up to them. Our clients have filled out forms lilsting with specific needs.

In addition, the donor should provide a few canned, fresh or frozen food items or another gift card to help them get some food to make it through the end of the month since they do not go in the pantry in December.

Can money be donated if a family is not available for adoption?
Definitely. We have had groups or individuals who wanted to donate just a bunch of hygiene items or a bunch of movie passes or gift cards or something that we can add to each family's gifts. Or persons may simply donate money for items needed at the pantry.

People donating items need to drop these at St. John’s United Church of Christ off between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 15. We will have the Boy Scouts at the pantry to help carry donated items.

Persons receiving items cannot pick up until 11 a.m. to noon.

About the Community Assistance Program
The Community Assistance Program provides food and assistance to qualifying community members in the Bluffton school district. It also operates the Bluffton food pantry, located at St. John’s UCC. It also provides youths in need with back-to-school supplies and at Christmas time has an adopt-a-family program.

Jami Crawfis is the director of the assistance program. As a volunteer position, she works with several other community volunteers. Connie Maroscher handles the monthly food pantry distribution with Basil Meyer, Donna Kidd and Elaine Harris assisting her.

Stocking the pantry each month are some former teachers from Bluffton Elementary School and other friends interested in serving the community by helping with the pantry.  Nancy Yeager oversees this area.

In a recent 12-month period, Crawfis said that the program has assisted as many as 60 families, not counting the Christmas adopt-a-family program.

Community Assistance Program board members are: Ed Yeager, Fred Steiner, Basil Meyer, Pat Rodabaugh, Jeanette Reineke, Andy Althaus and Lin Rumer. The program’s mailing address is PO Box 52, Bluffton, OH 45817