Through the generosity of two Lehighton business leaders, 100 families will be enjoying a hearty Christmas dinner this year.

Lehighton Ford donated 100 turkeys and Frank Kuhn, owner of Mallard Markets in Lehighton, contributed 100 bags of potatoes, 100 cans of green beans, 100 cans of corn and 100 cans of cranberry sauce.The bounty was divided among 10 churches in the area.Church representatives gathered Tuesday at Lehighton Ford to pick up the food items for distribution to 10 needy families in their congregations. With the sun shining and plenty of helping hands, the distribution took only minutes to complete."We are here to pass our good fortune on to others who have a need. We have called all of you together to help us help others," said Kent Newhart, CEO and owner of Lehighton Ford.Kuhn said he is thankful for the business partnership that allows him to help others."This means a lot to partner with you," said Kuhn, as he turned toward Newhart. "We're here in the community and we're here to help the community. It gives me a good feeling to come together for a common cause. Without the community, we wouldn't be here."Newhart said that the project to provide food to 100 families created a wave of good feelings among the employees of Lehighton Ford."This is a good project," said Newhart. "We are happy to be partnering with Frank and the local churches. We are offering a hand up. It means a lot to the employees of Lehighton Ford to partner with Mallard Market to help the local churches reach out to their congregations."Churches and representatives taking part in the project were, the Rev. Michael Ahrensfield, Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church; the Rev. Robert vonFrisch, Trinity Lutheran Church; Matt Muchmore, First Presbyterian Church; Annette Muffley, All Saint's Episcopal Church; the Rev. Doug Evans, Bethany Evangelical Church, Lehighton; the Rev. Ken Ogden, People's Evangelical Congregational Church; assistant Pastor Nathan Foeller, Lighthouse Baptist Church, Franklin Township; the Rev. Greg Laible, Christ Evangelical Free Church, Mahoning Township; the Rev. Al Snyder, St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Weissport and St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church, Towamensing.The representatives heard a prayer given by the Rev. Ahrensfield before the food items were distributed.A friendly camaraderie existed as church representatives helped each other load the vehicles."We're getting good at getting this organized," said John Krebs, service manager.Nicole Jones, social media director at Lehighton Ford, assisted with organizing the event.