More than 1.6 million pounds of food was collected for WACH FOX 57's 10th annual Share Your Holiday food drive benefiting Harvest Hope Food Bank, which feeds hungry people right here in South Carolina.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday Harvest Hope served 5,300 people, that's more than they usually help in a month. Donating doesn't cost as much as you think, but that agency needs every penny they can get in this tough economy.

Harvest Hope can get 10 pounds of food out of $1, $15 feeds a family for a week and $1,000 fills a delivery truck

Last year Harvest Hope distributed more than 19 million pounds of food. This year the need has gone up 40 percent, but Wednesday, even during these tough economic times, folks came out to help those who need it the most.

At all five sites, bins quickly filled with food donations thanks to people like Chris Terlinden. "We collected about eight bins of food," says Terlinden. He's the marketing director at Palmeto Citizens Bank. The different branches also donated more than $1,300, which means 13,000 pounds of food for Harvest Hope.

Harvest Hope uses donations to feed people in 20 counties.

Executive Director Denise Holland says this food drive will help but there's always a need. She says, "Hunger doesn't know a season. There's hunger around 12 months out of the year."

Even though volunteers are busy filling boxes, Holland says the need is so great all of Wednesday's donated food will be gone in less than a week.

"There hasn't been a day in recent months that the line hasn't been out the door all the way to Shop Road with the waiting room full," says Holland.

By coming out to give folks are not only giving food Holland says they're giving hope.