KETTERING, Ohio — Jack Steel has got his system down.

One by one he takes each food item, fills the bag, and gets it ready to go out.

He does it several days a week, sometimes for hours for one reason.

“Just knowing I can do something special to put a smile on a kid's face,” said Steel, a volunteer.

His efforts will help hundreds of kids who otherwise wouldn’t have anything to eat.

Volunteers deliver the food to students at schools in Kettering near Dayton through the backpack program.

“Pre-COVID, we were feeding about 6-700 kids a week. Right now, we’re feeding at times close to 1,000. We have never fed in the summer, we have never fed over the holidays, and now we’re doing all of that,” said Kettering Backpack Program Executive Director Bonnie Pittl.

Feeding that many students for a longer period of time isn’t cheap, but the program is getting a $12,000 boost because of Christmas trees.

“We’ve normally been ordering 750 trees, but this year with the pandemic, we really weren’t sure if we’d be able to sell that many,” said Dor-Wood Optimist Club President Lowell Vorp.

The Dor-Wood Optimist Club runs a Christmas tree lot every year and like just about everything in 2020, it surprised them.

“As we found out, we sold all 750 trees in nine days. So, people were out there really wanting to have a Christmas,” Vorp said.

That means more kids won’t go hungry because the money from those tree sales goes into programs that help students with school supplies and food through programs like the backpack program.

Volunteers like Jim Steel said it helps to know they're making a difference. 

“Very, very rewarding,” he said.

If you need help or are interested in volunteering with the Dor-Wood Optimist Club, click here to visit the Dor-Wood Optimist Club website.