It’ll soon be time for the holidays, and many local families in need will receive Thanksgiving or Christmas food as recipients of Western Fairfax Christian Ministries’ (WFCM) Holiday Food Program. But it’s a gigantic undertaking since WFCM is expecting to serve more than 1,600 families this year.

So it needs the community to help provide either gift baskets of food or grocery store gift cards to purchase the items for a holiday meal. And WFCM Community Outreach Manager Jennie Bush hopes local residents, businesses and other groups will join the organization’s “Neighbors Helping Neighbors Holiday Food Program.”

“I’m swamped with requests for food and have a huge need for gift cards this year to serve single individuals and small families who simply don’t want or can’t eat a huge turkey with trimmings all alone,” said Bush. “So what I especially need are gift cards to local grocery stores for $25 and $50 to give to our singles, elderly and small families that I have difficulty finding food sponsors for.”

She needs these cards by Thursday, Nov. 17, for Thanksgiving assistance, since they’ll be distributed, along with food, to WFCM’s clients on Nov 21. Grocery cards will also be used for Christmas food assistance and will be accepted through Dec. 20.

For those wanting to sponsor a family with a food basket, Bush will match them up with a recipient. She’ll give them a list of suggested items to include, and they’d then shop for the items for a holiday meal and put together the basket(s) or food boxes themselves. Then the sponsors deliver the food and turkey (or other meat) to the recipient families.

To participate, contact Bush at jbush@wfcmva.org. See WFCM’S Website, www.wfcmva.org, for a list of suggested food.

Grocery store gift cards may be dropped off at the WFCM food pantry at 4511 Daly Drive, Suite, J, Chantilly, Monday through Friday, between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. (No cash donations.) Or mail them with a note saying “Holiday Food Program” to: WFCM, P.O. Box 220802, Chantilly, VA 20153.