As we approach the holidays, South County Community Food Bank, a food pantry, wants to thank the many people who have supported its efforts during the last year. We began the year in rented space as we waited for our new building to be completed. The Seaside Signal and The Daily Astorian have provided coverage of the conversion of two classroom modular structures into a real building that celebrated its grand opening in October. The biggest part of the story is that most of the money to build and outfit the building came from local funds. Very little of the funding came from outside this area and most of that came from companies that do business in Clatsop County.

As we look forward, there is still need. The generosity of the South County community is remarkable. During this time of the year and into the next year, our pantry will be serving more than a thousand local people each month: underemployed locals waiting for spring, hungry children, homeless people and locals in unexpected difficulty. The holidays are a particularly difficult time. South County citizens and generous part time residents have always supported us. We thank you for the past support and ask, once again, for your help this year. You can deliver donations of food or cash to our new building at 2041 N. Roosevelt in Seaside, or mail contributions payable to South County Community Food Bank to P.O. Box 602, Seaside, Oregon 97138. We thank you in advance.

James C. Casterline

Gearhart