As the holiday season approaches, the needs of food distribution centers for donations and manpower grows.

The Selma Area Food Bank, which is a division of the Montgomery Area Food Bank, serves more than 77 nonprofit agencies and charities in Dallas, Perry Wilcox and Marengo counties.

J.D. Parks, executive director of the Selma branch, said their need has grown throughout the year.

“With the economic times we are in and the unemployment level where it is, it has only added to the demand,” he said. “Because we supply to agencies instead of individuals, we have a high demand year-round and not just during the holidays.”

During the Thanksgiving holidays, many local businesses kicked in to help Reliable Cadillac-GMC hold a pre-Thanksgiving drive that collected more than 200 pounds of food.

The food was donated to the Christian Outreach Alliance Food Pantry, one of the distributors for the Selma Area Food Bank.

Programs are operated out of Church Street United Methodist Church, First Presbyterian Church, First Baptist and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.

Montgomery Food Bank director Parke Hinman said the conglomerated efforts in the Selma area are what keep the Food Bank program moving forward.

“Without our many supporters this food bank could not exist, not to mention grow in effectiveness as it has,” he said.

Through Nov. 18 the COA had already given away 9,100 bags of food to 881 clients with 405 volunteers on staff.

The Alliance, which is open every Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon, distributes 8.5-pound bags of food to each client.

First time clients must have photo identification and an electric, gas or water bill in their name at their present address dated in the month they register or in the immediately preceding month.

For more information on donations or volunteering with the COA, call (334) 872-6904.