Santa's coming to Agoura
By Steve Holt steve@theacorn.com

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers FOOD FOR THOUGHT- Agoura Optimist member George Annino delivers food to the collector box in the Do-it Center in Agoura Hills on Monday. The 25th annual food drive is scheduled for Dec. 1 distribution and visit from the bearded one.

George Annino hates it when people are hungry. He especially detests that people could be hungry during the holidays. That's why the 25th annual Santa Comes to Agoura and Beyond food drive is in full swing.

People love it and so does Annino.

The concept is amazingly simple: People who have food share it with those who don't. It began in 1982 and Annino is still its driving force.

The idea, he said, wasn't his.

It came from his grandparents. They helped the hungry and the same passion was passed to their children. Annino and his five brothers and sisters were taught by their parents while they were growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y. "They didn't just talk about it, they actually did it, and they made people a part of it."

Annino saw philanthropy firsthand when he was 7 or 8 years old. "My mother always helped people who were hungry and came to our door," Annino said. "They learned it from their parents- you always help the poor and the hungry." The family motivated friends and neighbors to do the same.

Hunger, according to Annino, could be closer to home than most people realize.

Many Conejo Valley/Las Virgenes residents don't take into account that, even in affluent areas, things can change in a hurry. Jobs are lost, people die, and there are divorces, accidents and serious illnesses. A family might be housed in a multimillion-dollar home, but actually barely scraping by paycheck to paycheck.

The first priority for the food drive is local families. Annino learns about them from neighbors, relatives and acquaintances. Schools, houses of worship and other sources keep the food drive aware of who's hungry.

If you know of somebody who needs food, describe the situation in a short note and send it to 6602 Maple Grove, Oak Park, CA 91377. Please include the name, address and phone number of the family or person in need. Don't forget to include an apartment or condo number, if it's applicable.

There are many ways to help the Santa Comes to Agoura and Beyond food drive.

First and foremost, make a food donation at one of the dropoff locations. Items can be delivered to the Doit Center in Agoura Hills (between Agoura Road and Roadside Drive, east of Kanan Road), First Federal Bank of Agoura Hills, Postal Annex of Agoura Hills and Beanscene in Oak Park.

Nonperishable foodstuffs are needed, all types of canned goods, including canned meat such as tuna and chicken. Macaroni and cheese dinners are a good choice. Household items are also needed (ranging from personal hygiene products to laundry detergent).

Anything useful, from toilet tissue to toothpaste, is needed.

A note of caution, though: Please do not rid your cupboards of expired canned goods. Don't donate items that are past their expiration dates.

Another way to help is by sending supermarket scrip or checks made payable to Agoura Optimist Club/Santa, 6602 Maple Grove, Oak Park, CA 91377.

Also, you could buy a turkey through the advertisement that's running in The Acorn and the Thousand Oaks Acorn.

Still another way to help is bringing food donations or volunteering at the event's culmination from 9 to 11 a.m. Sat., Dec. 1 at the Do-it Center in Agoura Hills. "Volunteers should stop at the check-in booth and they'll be pointed in the right direction," Annino said.

The event includes performances by the Brookside Elementary School choir and the Agoura High School cheerleaders. Santa will arrive by firetruck at 10:15 a.m. There will be raffles and more. Kids can get their pictures taken with Santa for $1.

The food drive is completely nondenominational, aside from Santa's participation.

After local families are taken care of, food will be delivered to other worthy recipients, including the Manna Food Bank in Thousand Oaks, battered women and children, victims of AIDS, cerebral palsy and Down syndrome, military families in need and other groups and organizations.

The Santa Comes to Agoura and Beyond food drive would especially like to thank its committee, Annino said. Steve Bonifede, Ann Houseal, Mary Jane McGraw, Cindy Rushing, Lynda Hoffman, Patti Wolfson, Charlotte Annino and family, Mary Hendricks and Michelle Hanley have been tremendously helpful in this year's effort, Annino said.