One easy and rewarding way to help others and spread good cheer during the holiday season is to donate non-perishable food to the annual Hacienda Holiday Food Drive for the Alameda County Community Food Bank. This year, the event will be held between November 1 and December 31.

Participation is easy. Companies can request donation barrels from the food bank for on-site donations. The Food Bank will provide material, technical and logistical support, and barrel delivery and pick-up. All donors have to do is fill up the barrels.

Last year, 81 businesses participated in the drive, which also provides a friendly competition between Hacienda, Harbor Bay, and Marina Village business parks.

The goal of the three parks is to raise 20,000 pounds of food and $4,000 during the drive, topping last year's totals of 17,985 pounds of food and $2,773 - enough to provide over 16,000 meals for the needy. This contributed to the Food Bank's overall effort of 10 million pounds distributed in fiscal 1999.

In February, four Full Plate awards will be presented for collection efforts. The 1999 winners of the first, second and third place awards were Remedy, CarrAmerica, and PeopleSoft, all Hacienda businesses.

Generous corporate sponsorship this year comes from companies including ANG Newspapers, Asyst Technologies, Kaiser Permanente, and Sprint PCS.

The Food Bank, a member of America's Second Harvest National Food Bank Network, has been fighting hunger in Alameda County for 15 years. Its goal is to break the cycle of hunger and poverty through advocacy, education, and nutritional support.

The Food Bank receives food from manufacturers, producers, retailers, and individual households and distributed over 8 million meals through a network of over 300 direct-service agencies in 1999.

Donations of food can also be dropped off at the Hacienda Owners Association, 4473 Willow Road, Suite 105. There will also be public donation barrels in the park; call the Association at (925) 734-6500 for details. For more information, call the Food Bank at (510) 834-3259.

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