This year, Sunnyvale Community Services plans to bring Christmas--food, household items and toys--to more than 1,200 underprivileged local families in just under three weeks.

Each year, Community Services transforms its warehouse into a fully operational Community Christmas Center, with shelves stocked with food, toys and household items.

Every family that comes between Dec. 6 and Dec. 23 will receive two weeks' worth of food and a chance to pick out gifts for any children under 18. Each family will also pick out a household item such as a blanket or set of toiletries.

"This way, people get the dignity of picking the foods they like and the gifts they think their children will like," said Nancy Tivol, SCS' executive director. "They get to play Santa for their children."

Client families are typically given a week's worth of food when they visit, but that amount is doubled at Christmas. Tivol said that the need for food is greater because children are out of school--which means they are not receiving school lunches--and many businesses close for the holidays, putting parents out of work temporarily.

To meet that need, more than half of the Kifer Road building--which includes Community Services' meeting rooms and offices--is warehouse space for food and items.

The stock on the Christmas Center shelves only lasts about three hours. To keep supply up, Tivol has some 600 volunteers helping families, stocking shelves and picking up fresh supplies. More than 100 organizations and community groups have donated to the Community Christmas Center this year.

Even though SCS is planning for 1,200 families, up from some 1,150 families last year, there could be a greater demand. From July to September--the slowest months of the year for SCS--there was a 27.5 percent increase in client families over last year.

Anyone interested in donating can do so by dropping items off at Sunnyvale Community Services, at 725 Kifer Road, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., beginning Nov. 30. On Dec. 10, SCS will be open from 9 a.m. to noon to accept goods. For more information or a full list of what SCS needs, visit http://www.svcommunityservices.org or call 408.736.4321.