Hundreds of smiling and tear-eyed faces displayed the gratitude of the 41st annual delivery of Othello Christmas Baskets that came off without a hitch over the weekend.

“Things went great — there are a lot of happy kids out there who are going to have a very happy Christmas,” Ken Johnson who is one of the main principles of the program, said. “We handed out food and toys to 300 homes and enough food left over to fill the beds of two pick-ups and deliver to the food bank too. “

The annual Christmas community food drive started about two weeks ago and many of the area schools took on the challenge to see which one could bring in the most items to put in the baskets.

More than 8,000 cans of food were collected at the schools and warehoused at the Othello Fire Station on Broadway. Wahitis Elementary set the standard with 2,506 canned good items. McFarland Middle School collected 1,700 items along with several toys, and Lutacaga Elementary brought in 1,107 canned goods.

Local growers donated apples and 3,500 pounds of potato’s and onions. There were numerous boxes of Top Ramen, cold cereal, Hamburger Helper, Pasta and cake mixes collected, containers of peanut butter, cans of tuna fish, soup, fruit and vegetables and chili, along with hundreds of toys stocked on the shelves at the firehouse as well.

The Pilgrim Luther Church made quilts and a local youth group also provided blankets. Canned hams and fresh milk were all part of the delivery packages too.

“It was a fantastic effort from all on such a short notice,” Merritt Johnson, one of the original organizers of the annual event said. “A lot of people came together to make this happen — it brings tears to my eyes.”

Over the years more than 500,000 items of food, 34,000 meals, 30,000 toys and 8,500 baskets have been delivered to the community through the Othello Christmas Basket program.

A video of this year’s deliveries can be viewed on the Othello Community Christmas Basket Facebook page.