On behalf of the Lake County Hunger Task Force, I would like to publicly acknowledge and thank all who were involved in the "bountiful boxes" project that was undertaken for our benefit.

First of all, Michelle Scully. When she called me in early December to ask if some local entities could hold a fundraiser for us, I was flabbergasted. For all who know me, speechlessness is not my normal reaction.

She explained that the Lake County Winegrape Commission and its members, Colleen Rentsch of Seely Farm Stand, Lake County Walnut and Scully Packing wanted to fill boxes with organic walnuts, comice pears, Pink Lady apples and wine from Lake County and sell them to raise funds for our programs.

I agreed that this sounded like a wonderful idea, and we would see if there was a response. We set a price, and they all agreed to furnish up to 100 boxes.

The response was phenomenal! When the final tally was done, we sold every box we prepared, and still had people asking for more. Between box sales and outright donations, a total of $4,766 was raised. A gigantic thank you to everyone involved, from the donors to the purchasers.

Additional kudos go to Umpqua Bank for allowing us to use their parking lot as our distribution point. On a cold, windy, slightly damp day we met with buyers and gave them the boxes. One of the bank managers took pity on Michelle, Tammy Alakszay and I and brought us hot coffee in Umpqua travel mugs. We really do appreciate all of the help from Umpqua.

We also must thank the Lake County Office of Education for the loan of the Easy-up for the day, which provided some shelter from the elements.

Many thanks to the crew who helped pack the boxes. Patrick Scully ran quality control on the pears, Michelle on the apples, Sally Evans and Mary Beth Woodward polished and packed apples, Michelle and I added wine and walnuts, and Tammy Alakszay finished with letters, labels, box lids, and taped them shut. It took all of us working together to produce the final product, which was fabulous.

Heartfelt thanks go to Six Sigma Winery, Wildhurst Winery, Brassfield Winery, Round River Farm, Shannon Gunier, Lake County Walnuts, Patrick and Michelle Scully, Scully Packing, Seely Farm Stand, and all of the Hunger Task Force members for their generosity and support. The funds will be put to good use for our community garden projects, canning lessons, and helping feed those who need some help from those of us who have enough and want to donate to those of us who do not.

Lorrie Gray is a member of the Lake County Hunger Task Force. She lives in Kelseyville, Calif.