NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The North Adams Police department wanted to give a little more this year and decided to deliver Christmas meals to 12 families in need.

 

"I know what it's like this time of year if you are a young family. Food is not always the top priority," Officer Erik Thomas said. "You want to get your kids some toys to put under the tree."

 

Thomas said the department reached out to elementary school adjustment counselors and asked for a few families that may need a little help this holiday season.

 

"We asked them to pick us a few families and we wanted to see what we could come up with for donations from the officers," he said. "The chief offered to match the donations, which we really didn't even need because we had enough through the donations from each individual officer. We covered about 90 percent of it."

 

Each family got a Butterball "ready to roast" turkey breast, mashed potatoes, rolls, vegetables, gravy, and a pie. Thomas said they also gathered some toys for the younger kids and movie tickets for some of the older kids.

 

The meals were delivered on Monday afternoon.  

 

Police Chief Jason Wood said he was proud of his officers for stepping up and giving back to the community.

 

"I think this is great that everyone wants to help ... we need to make sure we grow with the community’s needs," he said. "Unfortunately, there are a lot of people that are in need and if the police can help in a small way we are going to do it."