We are now less than three weeks away from the start of hamper deliveries for Steinbach Community Christmas.

Spokesperson Roger Blatz says registrations are coming in fast and furious. There are already 650 registrations and Blatz says the deadline is November 30th. Blatz notes he is hopeful that registrations will soon taper off.

"Hopefully we can keep things down to a minimum," he says. "Neighbours helping neighbours."

According to Blatz, last year they prepared 950 hampers. He says it would be nice not to exceed that total but notes typically they don't see registrations drop from one year to the next. For that reason, he expects to be in that 950 to 1,000 range by December 1st.

There is no change to the coverage area this year for Steinbach Community Christmas. Their coverage area includes Steinbach, Blumenort, Mitchell, La Broquerie, Zhoda, Woodridge, Sandilands, St. Labre and Marchand. However, Blatz says they will sometimes share their donations with other food banks. For example, he says Bothwell Cheese will donate more cheese than can be used for the Steinbach hampers alone.

The number of toy donations required this year is expected to be similar to last year. Blatz says in 2017 they handed out 1,330 toys. Though the number of hampers needed has been slowly increasing over the years, Blatz says the number of toys needed has been increasingly more rapidly. And, he says the age group with the greatest need changes from one year to the next.

AM1250, MIX 96.7FM and COUNTRY 107.7FM Toys Days will be on Wednesday, December 5 and Thursday, December 6. Radio broadcasts and toy collection will be at Canadian Tire in Steinbach.

Meanwhile, Blatz says they are also in need of cash donations. Anyone wishing to donate online or sponsor a hamper online can visit their website.

Deliveries start December 12th.