By Voice staff

Many people consider providing food to others as an ultimate act of love. For the Knights of Columbus based at St. Isidore Parish in Danville that kind of love is part of a Christmas tradition spanning 31 years.

For Christmas 2009, the Danville Knights delivered some 500 food baskets, each weighing over 50 pounds, and 1,000 wrapped gifts to needy families.

The baskets held fruit, fresh and canned vegetables, canned meat and other staples as well as a turkey weighing between 16 and 20 pounds, reported Bob Bartlett, a member of Danville Council #4060. Before the completed baskets were loaded onto some 18 trucks for delivery, they were blessed by Father Gerald Moran, St. Isidore pastor.

The Christmas Basket program is a tightly organized partnership between the Knights and members of the Danville parish, many of whom donated their time and funds to the effort which was weeks in the making.

After a wildly successful food drive which brought in over 30,000 pounds of food, a crew of up to 125 Knights worked in shifts from Dec. 10 – 13 assembling and filling the baskets and wrapping the gifts. The packages were then loaded into vehicles and taken to 18 charities for distribution to families throughout the Bay Area.

The outreach program concluded on Dec. 13 with the Knights’ Christmas Buffet Breakfast at St. Isidore’s. The fundraiser generated about $6,687 from 3,100 participants. In addition to the breakfast, other fundraisers and donations totaled $23,394.

When the Christmas Food Baskets program began in 1970, eight Knights assembled food packages and wrapped gifts for 14 families in Contra Costa County. It has grown every year since.


Children from St. Isidore School line up to deliver their gifts for the holiday project.

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