The Steve Francis Foundation celebrated Christmas in February by donating over 5,000 non-perishable items to needy families at a Houston Food Bank Food Fair on Laura Koppe Road in the Trinity/Houston Garden neighborhood, at the Star of Hope homeless mission, and the USA RV Park in Sugar Land.

Steve heard and witnessed the overwhelming demand for food donations in the community and decided to take action. The Foundation purchased the food and delivered it to all three locations in a U-Haul Truck on Saturday morning.

Francis was joined by over 30 volunteers, including family, friends, his artists, Club leaders and members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston, and several student recipients of the Foundation’s Brenda Wilson College Scholarship, who took time away from their college studies to assist with the delivery.

“The event was really terrific. There were about 350 people that came out to get food at our location. So many of the people that came are in need, many of them are unemployed. This donation was really a blessing.” - Pastor Lola Stevenson, House of Prayer Outreach Center

“During this year and months leading up to 2011, we had an unprecedented number of families coming to us, because they have lost their homes, their incomes, and cannot feed themselves and their children. Receiving this donation from The Steve Francis Foundation helped us tremendously.” - Marilyn Fountain, Director of Community Relations, Star of Hope Mission

The Steve Francis Foundation has carried out its mission actively by providing educational and recreational opportunities to at-risk youth since 1999. In addition to Christmas in February, the Foundation also annually distributes Turkey & Trimmings; donates toys during its Holiday Extravaganza; and awards $50,000 in college scholarships to Houston area high school graduates, totaling $350,000 in college scholarships awarded to date.

The Houston Food Bank is the largest source of food for hunger relief charities in 18 southeast Texas counties. It works with nearly 500 food pantries, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and other agencies feeding over 130,000 people each week and more than 65 million pounds of food annually.

The Star of Hope Mission is a Christ-centered community dedicated to meeting the needs of homeless men, women and their children. Positive life changes are encouraged through structured programs which focus on spiritual growth, education, employment, life management and recovery from substance abuse.

Check out photos from the event.