Times were hard in Daytona Beach in 1931, just as they were throughout the United States. However, Daytona Beach had more than just the Great Depression to deal with. The city, and Florida itself, had seen unbridled growth in the 1920s as the Florida land boom brought thousands upon thousands of people to the state. According to the US Census, the population in Daytona Beach in 1920 was 826 people. By 1930, it was 16,598. The collapse of the land boom in 1927, followed by the Wall Street crash in 1929, left many people without resources to feed their families. Local businessmen, including  Julius Davidson, the publisher of the Daytona Beach News-Journal (then the Morning News and the Evening Journal) looked for ways to help community members help one another. Davidson developed a “scrip” program for his advertisers that allowed them to pay him with credit at their businesses. He used that credit to pay his employees, thus preventing either side from having to lay off workers when there were no new jobs. In 1931, he marshalled friends and business associates to create the Community Christmas Club of the Halifax Area. The Club was designed to help put food on holiday tables when there was little else to celebrate economically. Club members raised funds, bought food and delivered to those in need. Over the next the 93 years our goal has remained the same, though our reach (and the need) has grown over the years. Volunteers gather, funds are raised, boxes of food are packed and delivered to those neighbors who need them. Even in good times, many families are hungry. Our all-volunteer group of community members, businesses and city workers has been there to help put food on their holiday tables. With our hundredth anniversary in sight, we hope to be there for many more.