The Christmastime spirit of generosity has been ramping up throughout Johnson County during the past few weeks.
People have donated more than $11,000 for the annual Good Cheer Fund in the hopes of feeding the hungry throughout the county this holiday season.
With less than two weeks to go before Christmas, organizers of the food delivery are hoping that the coming days bring an even greater outpouring from the community.
Just as it has for nearly 100 years, the Good Cheer Fund will provide families throughout Johnson County with a Christmas meal and other food to last for days around the holidays. The effort relies on donations from local residents, both in the form of money to buy fresh groceries for the food baskets and canned goods to help families stock their pantries.
Money is slowly coming in, though donations tend to increase the closer Christmas gets, chairman Jacob Sappenfield said.
“I’m not getting nearly the amount in the mail that I normally get. Overall, it’s OK, but I think we’ll get a run on donations in the next few days,” he said.
The Good Cheer Fund is a Johnson County holiday tradition dating back to 1921. Baskets are dropped off at local households in need and contain fresh food such as ham, chicken, eggs and cheese for Christmas dinner. In addition, the deliveries include enough canned and non-perishable food so people can eat for days after the holiday.
Around 800 baskets will be delivered, with people in Greenwood and the Center Grove area receiving theirs on Dec. 22 and the rest of the county taken care of the morning of Dec. 24.
Applications for the food baskets started going on in November, and were published in the Daily Journal to better reach those in need. Sappenfield worked with schools, social service agencies and other organizations to get referrals of those families who will benefit most from a food basket.
A key aspect of planning the Good Cheer Fund each year is making sure families have access to applications. With about 900 applications coming in, organizers will hope to get as many households as possible food.
“I’m constantly evaluating people’s access to these applications: Are we doing enough? Are they getting in people’s hands? Are they being referred?” Sappenfield said.
While reaching the needy is the core of the Good Cheer Fund, organizers are also focused on involving the community to help provide for those who need a basket.
Students at local schools donate close to 35,000 canned and non-perishable food items for the baskets each year, and collections have been ongoing at county schools for the past three weeks. Individuals, families and organizers also typically contribute about $25,000 in donations to go towards fresh groceries.
As of Wednesday, $11,154 had been given to the fund this year. That is comparable to 2017, when $11,262 in donations had come in by Dec. 12.
Organizers of the Good Cheer Fund have this year’s delivery already paid for, so the amount of donations will not impact who gets food for Christmas. But fund’s board plans on a cushion of savings in the account of between $20,000 and $25,000 going into January, which allows Sappenfield to plan throughout the year based on the reserves.
“We still need to hit those marks that we’ve hit in the past, so we put ourselves in a good position moving forward,” he said.
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What: Good Cheer Fund, an annual effort to pass out holiday food baskets to the needy throughout Johnson County. Baskets include a mix of canned foods and fresh items, such as a ham or chicken, eggs, milk and cheese.
How many: About 800 baskets
Distribution: Approximately 360 baskets will go to the Franklin, Trafalgar and Bargersville areas; about 240 will go to Greenwood and the northern part of the county; and about 200 will go to the Edinburgh area.
How to give: Monetary donations will be accepted until the end of December. Donations can be mailed to the Daily Journal, P.O. Box 699, Franklin, IN 46131, or dropped off at the Daily Journal at 30 S. Water St., Second floor, Suite A, in Franklin.
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