“Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy. You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in”.

As the season of giving begins, local organizations got into the action, providing food for needy families.

York Giving, in conjunction with Catholic Harvest Food Pantry and LifePath Christian Ministries, packed nearly 2,000 meals Saturday at Logos Academy. This highly-organized, amazingly efficient event began at 8 a.m. and meals were ready to be picked up at 10 a.m.

Some of the 400 volunteers began streaming in at 7:30 a.m. most inside warm Logos Academy, but a few patrolling a cold parking lot or separating the turkeys by size.

Although the pick-ups didn’t officially begin until 10 a.m., families began lining up at 8 a.m. They didn’t want to miss out on the meals.

The pickups continued Sunday and deliveries began Monday.

Three days earlier, Aldersgate Church packed 33,000 meals to be distributed overseas through Rise Against Hunger. The 100 volunteers packed small bags with rice, soy, dried veggies, and vitamins. Each bag feeds six people.

This is the fourth time the church hosted the event.