For the ninth year in a row, the Florida Theatre will host its annual holiday movie and food drive benefiting Feeding Northeast Florida and the Northeast Florida community. The movie this year will be “Home Alone” (1990) and will start at 2 p.m. Monday, Dec. 23, inside the historic theater.
Admission is free for every adult and child with a gift of a canned or nonperishable food item. Please bring one item per adult and one item per child — but more is welcome.
“We started this years ago (2015) as a way to give back to the community as a nonprofit ourselves,” said Numa Saisselin, president of the Florida Theatre. “It is a great family event and an opportunity to teach kids about philanthropy. One year a lady pulled up in her car, opened her trunk, said she couldn’t attend the movie but had been a recipient of the food bank in the past and wanted to donate to the cause. Her trunk was full of food.”
Some suggestions for the food drive include canned vegetables like corn or green beans; canned fruit like peaches, pears or mixed fruit; peanut butter in plastic jars; canned meats like tuna or chicken; pop-top cans of ravioli and spaghetti; canned soup; or boxed items like macaroni and cheese, pasta and instant potatoes.
All food donations will benefit Feeding Northeast Florida.
“Support from the community is critical to our ability to serve neighbors in need,” said Susan King, president and CEO of Feeding Northeast Florida. “We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with the Florida Theatre again for this wonderful holiday tradition.”
Doors open at 12:30 p.m. for arts and crafts and milk and cookies in the lobby. Attendees can also get their pictures taken with Santa. Showtime is 2 p.m. and the movie is one hour and 43 minutes long.
CSX is the presenting sponsor.
