The 3 tons of groceries collected by the Valley View Community Food Bank on the Fourth of July will be gone in the next few days as people in need from Youngtown, Sun City, Surprise, El Mirage and other West Valley communities drain the donations nearly as fast as they pour in.

"That will help us for at least the next week," said food bank director Jesse Ramirez of the July 4 collection event, which brought in some 6,000 pounds of nonperishable goods.

"We've been seeing close to 300 families a day, which has been taking so much from us," Ramirez said. "People are visiting for the first time from Surprise, El Mirage and Buckeye, and coming down from Wickenburg and needing help.

"Our main purpose is to provide food boxes for families and community members through the West Valley, especially Sun City, Surprise and El Mirage who need help immediately, and also provide them with different resources - with food first, and now with utilities and even with jobs," Ramirez said.

Since many of the food bank patrons are families with children, Valley View Community Food Bank is playing host to a Christmas in July event to help send those children back to school looking good and equipped with the necessities to start the school year off right.

The event, which takes place from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. July 25 at its Surprise location, 11081 N. Milgard Way, southwest of Dysart and Varney roads, will feature free haircuts and back-to-school backpacks filled with school supplies for the first 100 children in attendance.

"We want to let people come down and let those who can't afford a haircut receive that, and then we can provide food boxes for the families and also let them know about the different resources available here," Ramirez said.

Among the those providing services at the event are The Lakeview United Methodist Church in Sun City, Dolly Rockers Az Hair Salon, chiropractor Dr. Bret Wilson and Sprouts in Surprise.

The Rev. Louie Lyon, senior pastor at Lakeview United Methodist Church, said the church has been holding a Christmas in July event for several years to rally parishioners to donate filled backpacks for local needy children.

"It's important because with the economy, a lot of families cannot afford school supplies, and the school district does not supply things like in the old days," Lyon said. "Our congregation has a lot of people who don't have grandchildren here. So this is a way of feeling involved by adopting other people's kids to help and feel good about it."

The general public can donate backpacks filled with pencils, erasers, paper, folders and any other kind of school supply at the church at 10298 W. Thunderbird Blvd. in Sun City, through July 26. Vouchers for the backpacks will be given out to families at the food bank event. The families will then pick up the backpacks the following week at the food bank or El Mirage Elementary School.

There are two new services designed to help unemployed and/or needy families kicking off at the food bank's Surprise location, officials said.

The Community Action Program has an office inside the food bank and is offering financial assistance to cover utilities, rent and other essential services. Help is available by appointment only, by calling 602-372-4858.

And next month, job seekers can visit the food bank to use dedicated computers to search for jobs in a program offered through Jobing.com.

"Someone looking for a job can come down and use computers designed to search through Jobing.com," Ramirez said.

The food bank also is offering nighttime volunteer opportunities for businesses, families or groups who are unable to volunteer during the day. Those interested should call the food bank to arrange an appointment.

Ramirez said the additional services and programs are being offered at the food bank to help it reach all areas of the community.

Valley View Community Food Bank is at 11081 N. Milgard Way in Surprise, and at 11115 W. Nevada Avenue in Youngtown. Each location is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday.

For information, call 623-933-3358.

Joy Slagowski may be reached at 623-876-2514 or jslagowski@yourwestvalley.com.