Home Depot in Newbury Park has chosen Manna, the Conejo Valley Food Bank, to be its Valentine this year.

The home-improvement store at 2745 Teller Road is sponsoring a community food drive at its Family Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sat., Feb. 14. Those attending are asked to bring a donation for Manna.

Families will then be given free food, and hands-on projects will be available for youngsters. Demonstrations from local agencies, including DART (Disaster Assistance Response Team), the Ventura County Fire Department and Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency will be featured. Every girl attending will be given a flower as a Valentine's Day gift.

Manna is being tested during the current economic recession, when more people are looking to the local food bank to help them feed their families.

"We have record numbers coming in now, and every day we're open the line gets longer," Manna director John Gorham said.

Last Friday saw 45 families— the most in any single day in Manna's 38-year history—go through its pantries to get food, Gorham said.

"The demand is growing at a rate we've never seen," he said.

Individual donations, charity groups and large community events like the one Home Depot is sponsoring are helping them keep up with that demand, Gorham said.

"I simply don't see an end in sight to these extraordinary times." Manna has redesigned their pantry to streamline the foodselection process for clients. Perishables are prepackaged and given to clients before they enter the pantry with their shopping cart to select canned and other nonperishable products. Those who come for assistance are allowed to return in four weeks, Gorham said.

Each of the 45 families who came in on Friday took home a shopping cart of bread, pastries, pies, milk, salads, eggs, chicken, ground beef and dozens of items from the pantry. They also could take toiletry items such as toothbrushes and feminine hygiene products. "We are simply determined to stay ahead of this crisis so people can spend their time getting back on their feet instead of merely surviving," Gorham said.

Currently Manna is very low on peanut butter, jellies, jams, canned chili, canned pasta, canned fruit, cooking oil, coffee and one-pound boxes of sugar, Gorham said.

For a complete list of what they need, go online to www.mannaconejo.org.

Food can be donated at 3020 Crescent Way. Call (805) 4974959 for hours.