CHESAPEAKE — The annual peanut butter drive is under way at Chesapeake Middle School.

For the past 10 years the school’s student council has collected jars of peanut butter to go into the food baskets given away each December at the Chesapeake Community Center.

“We are asking the students to bring in 500 jars of peanut butter,” Tina Wilcoxon, student council adviser, said. “We usually do better than that but with the price increase we are hoping to reach our goal. We would appreciate any community support that we could get.”

The community center plans to give away food baskets for 600 needy families in the eastern end of the county.

The baskets are geared to provide food for Christmas dinner as well as provide items for future meals.

The program is supported by the churches in the area that each choose a single item and provide enough of that for each of the baskets. Also funds raised at the annual Community Ecumenical Thanksgiving service go the food program.

Community center volunteers will begin Dec. 10 to work on packing the baskets and collecting toys that will also be given away to families with young children.

The students’ choice of food item was guided by the volunteers at the center.

“We just wanted to get one item and called the community to find out what the need was,” Wilcoxon said. “We are teaching the students the gift of giving and supporting your community and being a part of helping your neighbor.

Community donations may be brought to the middle school office. The deadline for the project is Dec. 16.

“We don’t care what brand of peanut butter,” Wilcoxon said.