What to Know
- Over 1,000 cans of food were collected
- Food Share Ventura County was the beneficiary
- The famous "CAN-Trees' are a Ventura County tradition at Christmastime
Some of the sweetest and loveliest Christmas trees boast no branches, or fir needles, or trunks, bits of bark, or pinecones.
They're made of canned goods, those tins and cylinders that brim with beans and yams and fruits and all sorts of tasty foodstuffs.
And if you stack a lot of those cans up just right? As in, hundreds and hundreds of cans?
Wowza: You'll get a sizable and stunning "Christmas tree," one that has been created with a give-back purpose in mind.
Ventura County has long been a holiday hub of canned-good Christmas trees, with several organizations building the pretty pyramids in recent years.
Different teams have gone can-to-can, to see who has the most spectacular tree, and the final result? The community good-heartedness that arises.
And while 2020 has been quite the different year, due to the pandemic, can-collecting locals still showed their "can"-do in the face of new challenges.
And the good news? Can-donating locals, and dedicated CAN-Tree builders, remained committed to seeing the Holiday CAN-Tree Food Drive carry on its important mission.
The shared goal of the CAN-Tree efforts? To help and support the donation of canned goods, many, many canned goods, to Food Share Ventura County.
And that's just what happened in December 2020, when over 1,000 cans, first seen in two trees at Ventura Harbor Village, made their way to the regional food bank.
The CAN-Trees always have unique themes, and 2020 saw that tradition continue, with a merry mermaid-like CAN-Tree popping up not far from the water's edge.
Want to see the trees "grow"? This video will give you a behind-the-scenes peek at the process.
Here's to 2021, and the return of more CAN-Trees to the Ventura area, more themes, more good-hearted teams, and a wonderful way to help a wonderful organization that does so much for so many people.
