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NEWPORT TWP. &mdash; The Newport Township Community Organization continued to support fellow community members with their monthly food distribution drive, held on Saturday at the Newport Township Recreation Park.
				A group of about a dozen volunteers, masks on and socially distant from one another, helped load up cars and trucks as they drove through the parking lot.
				Led by organization President Steve Phillips and Palmira Miller, the event&rsquo;s director, the food drive had to be adjusted to account for COVID-19, just as many local food drives and community events have had to adjust.
				&ldquo;We usually do this at the local American Legion hall. They&rsquo;re kind enough to let us use their space,&rdquo; Phillips said. &ldquo;Now, of course, we can&rsquo;t do this safely inside, so we moved out here.&rdquo;
				According to Miller, referred to as the &ldquo;driving force&rdquo; behind the food distribution by Phillips, they&rsquo;ve seen an increased number of families in need of support since the pandemic set in.
				&ldquo;We&rsquo;re up to somewhere around 150 sign-ups this time around,&rdquo; Miller said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re asking people to register so we know exactly what we need and what to expect.&rdquo;
				&ldquo;We&rsquo;d much rather know ahead of time and have more than enough food, rather than not enough,&rdquo; Phillips added.
				Any extra food left over after the drive, which lasted from around 10:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday, is redistributed among families from the township fire police and others, who could in turn get the food to people who need it.
				&ldquo;Nothing ever goes to waste,&rdquo; Phillips said.
				Drivers didn&rsquo;t even have to step outside their car while picking up their food, as the team of volunteers simply popped the trunk or opened the door to the backseat, put the food safely inside the vehicle and sent the driver on their way.
				There were two stops for families to make at the park: the first for canned goods and other non-perishables, and the second for produce and some other fresh food.
				The whole process took hardly more than a minute.
				Doreen Smith Weaver was one of the volunteer&rsquo;s at Saturday&rsquo;s food drive.
				&ldquo;I try to volunteer as much as I can,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I know how much this means to people, and how much some people really need it, especially now.&rdquo;
				Saturday&rsquo;s drive was part of a monthly event hosted by the Newport Township Community Organization, held on every second Saturday of the month.

Newport Township Community Organization distributes food