The 12th Annual U.S. Bank Arizona Celebration of Lights once again dazzled patrons young and old and illuminated the issue of hunger in the Valley during the important season of giving.

While enjoying more than 7 million lights over a one-mile journey set to the music of the holidays, thousands of families and friends earned discounted admission while donating nearly 15,000 pounds of non-perishable items to St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance – making it one of SMFBA’s largest food drives of the holiday season and one which fed thousands of hungry Arizonans during the holidays will continue to do so beyond.

To U.S. Bank, the many workers and volunteers that makes Arizona’s largest display of holiday lights a holiday must-see and all those who donated during the celebration’s run, St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance thanks you for your support and the opportunity to serve the community on your behalf.

More than Food. Hope.

http://www.FirstFoodBank.org

Now easier to use than ever, the Arizona Working Poor tax credit was created to encourage donations to organizations like St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance, which distributes enough food into the community to provide 300,000 meals every day throughout the state of Arizona. By making a donation to the Food Bank, taxpayers may qualify for a dollar-for-dollar tax credit (a reduction to their final tax bill, lowering the amount owed) of up to $200 for individuals or $400 for those married filing jointly. In addition to the state tax credit, donors may also be able to take a deduction for federal tax purposes.

St. Mary’s Food Bank, given a top four-star rating by Charity Navigator, spends 96% of its budget to help low-income Arizonans. During the last fiscal year, the Food Bank distributed 67.7 million pounds of food in 13 of the state’s 15 counties. With the economic downturn, the Food Bank has seen a steady 76% increase in demand for its services over last year.

http://www.kpho.com/video/22044210/index.html

Downtown Glendale will be a place where generosity and compassion are celebrated for the holidays during Glendale Glitters. And you can help St. Mary’s Food Bank during the special “Spirit of Giving” Weekend.

Friday, Dec. 11, and Saturday, Dec.12, from 6-10 p.m. each night, join in the fun and enjoy 1.5 million lights and all kinds of entertainment for the entire family. Glendale is honoring and celebrating many nonprofit organizations and companies that give back to the Glendale community, including the West Valley Child Crisis Center, Donor Network of Arizona, the Swift Branch and The Boys and Girls Club.

Glendale’s Spirit of Giving event will also have St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance on hand, collecting canned food items to benefit to the less fortunate during this holiday season. Last year, the event collected enough food to help provide 10,186 meals to needy families and this year, with demand increasing, event organizers hope to exceed that number.

The Spirit of Giving weekend in downtown Glendale offers free admission, and will also feature food and beverages, horse-drawn carriages rides with special mini-pony rides, inflatable rides and visits with Santa Claus. For more information, visit www.GlendaleGlitters.com.

Arizona State and University of Arizona football fans don’t agree on much, but they do have a chance to work together before Saturday’s annual showdown at Sun Devil Stadium and to help those in the state struggling to feed their families.

The first annual “Territorial Cup Series Food Fight,” sponsored by State Farm Insurance, will take place outside the stadium in the hours leading up to kickoff. Demand has doubled for emergency holiday food boxes during the early stages of this holiday season, and St. Mary’s Food Bank is hoping fans from both teams will help with donations of non-perishable food and cash that will go immediately to work in 13 of Arizona’s 15 counties.

Volunteers from ASU4Food and State Farm Insurance will be stationed at numerous food-drop locations surrounding the stadium. The ASU4Food group is also holding a raffle and those who donate are eligible to win a football or Sun Devil Stadium panoramic photo autographed by ASU coach Dennis Erickson.

Come experience wines from all over the world donated by Amante Divine Wine & Spirits as they feature dozens of wines that will surprise and delight you at Amante’s Second Annual Wine and Food Festival on Monday, Nov. 16 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Eddie’s House (7042 E. Indian School Road).

Premier Phoenix Cheese Shop Petite Fromage will provide an eclectic selection of fare while Chef Eddie Matney will pair the wines with some of his signature dishes.

Tickets are $1 per tasting of wine and food, with all proceeds benefiting St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance. The Food Bank will also be accepting cash and non-perishable food donations at the door to help Arizona families have a memorable holiday dinner this season.

For more information, call Eddie’s House at (480) 946-1622 or log on to www.eddieshouse.com.

The Laguna Village Shopping Center (5865 West Ray Road – the Southeast corner of Ray and Kyrene Roads in Chandler) will play host to a big car show and canned food drive to benefit St. Mary’s Food Bank this Saturday, Nov. 14, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

All makes and models of cars and trucks are welcome. So it’s time to Rev up the Chevy! Gas up the Ford! Polish the Packard! Shine the Shelby! Load up the family and come on over to Laguna Village for a day of fun

This FREE event will include music and a raffle for some cool prices. But it’s really all about collecting canned food donations for St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance, with 100 percent of the donations going directly toward easing the 50 percent increase in demand this holiday season.

For more information, contact, Dawn Sullivan at (480) 600-7601

St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance is proud to have been named as a finalist in the Non-Profit category by the 2009 Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce Sterling Award Committee.

Volunteer judges annually select nominees for the Sterling Award that demonstrate excellence, innovation and community stewardship. The award is one of the most coveted business awards in the Valley and involves a rigorous application, judging and selection process.

St. Mary’s thanks the Sterling Award Committee for its nomination and congratulates the other nominees for this distinctive honor.

www.scottsdalechamber.com

St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance would like to thank the members of the five Valley Weight watcher locations for a tremendous effort in their 2009 Food Drive.

After collecting more than 9,300 pounds of food in 2008, the Weight Watchers staff and members really turned up their efforts and collected 17,828 pounds to help the Food Bank at a very critical time. The 51st Avenue and Cactus location in Phoenix brought in more than 5,000 pounds alone, while the locations at 14537 Grand Avenue and 350 East Bell Road each totaled over 4,000.

On behalf of the nearly 18,000 members of the community that will enjoy meals because of your generosity … Thank you Weight Watchers!

Get an up-close preview of your Phoenix Suns just before the 2009-10 NBA regular season tips off and help St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance fight hunger during the “R U ORNG? SUNS FEST” from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday Oct. 24 at US Airways Center.

The event, but the Suns and Hensley Corporation are encouraging all fans bring non-perishable food donations to benefit St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance. Food Bank volunteers will stationed outside each entrance to collect donations.

Come watch Leandro Barbosa, Grant Hill, Steve Nash, Jason Richardson, Amar’e Stoudemire and newest Sun Channing Frye as the team works through a workout and scrimmage run by Head Coach Alvin Gentry from 1-2 p.m.

The Suns celebration will also include a variety of activities for the whole family, including pumpkin decorating, trick-or-treating, inflatable games, face-painting and all the Suns favorites including The Gorilla, Suns Dancers, Verve Sol Patrol, Hairy and Hairyson. Click to www.suns.com for more information.

Long-time Phoenician and musician Howard Faltz will present a benefit performance for St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance on Saturday, Oct. 24 at The Java Ground’s Coffee House (8385 W. Deer Valley Road in Peoria.) beginning at 7 p.m.

Cash donations will be collected at the concert and food bins will be available for any non-perishable food or household items. All tips and a generous portion of all register receipts during the performance will also be presented to the Food Bank,

Faltz, best known around the Valley for Gospel music, was influenced by Elvis Presley, John Sebastian, Kingston Trio and other pop artists of the of his youth. He has always been a great believer in giving back to the community and several years ago, selected St. Mary’s as his “Charity of Choice” and has helped St. Mary’s as a volunteer as well.

For more information, call (623) 572-8887 or log on to info@TheJavaGrounds.com