A tradition of the holiday season is set to return this week, as Atchison-based MGP Ingredients and local non-profit agencies again team up to distribute food boxes, containing 25 pounds of non-perishable items each, to Atchison-area families in need.

According to a release, the food distribution, known as the “Boxes of Blessings” project, will mark its 10th consecutive year when held Friday, with the milestone year being marked by MGP by supporting other food-related programming for 10 days beginning Friday, including snacks at Atchison Child Care; lunch at Project Concern; and gift cards at a local grocery store.

The release explains that the food boxes, available while supplies last, will be distributed Friday from 1 until 7 p.m., in the alley south of the Atchison Wholesale Grocery, located at 100 South 3rd Street. Drivers who wish to receive a food box are asked to line up on Main Street.

Michael Buttshaw, MGP- vice president of Ingredient Solutions sales, marketing and R&D, in the release, calls “Boxes of Blessings” "an annual labor of love to help our neighbors.”

The project was inspired by a community program developed more than 20 years ago at B.C. Williams, a Dallas-based ingredients distributor and producer of custom mixes, bases and concentrates. Initially focused on helping families in Texas and Tennessee, “Boxes of Blessings” was extended to the Atchison area in 2014.

Since the annual holiday food distribution began in Atchison 10-years ago, the program has provided 370,000 pounds, or 185 tons, of food to Atchison families.