Kitsap County’s eight food banks have partnered with Barnes and Noble to make sure that families receive a little something extra this year.

In addition, to baskets of food, workers hope that they will be able to assemble approximately 4,000 baskets, which include toys or books that are appropriate for the whole family.

Barnes and Noble is giving shoppers the opportunity to purchase these items for the book drive inside their stores.

All items will be reserved for direct donation to food bank baskets from Kingston to Port Orchard.

In the last two weeks, the Silverdale location has gathered over two cartons of new books which will be picked up by food bank coordinator Denise Agee.

Agee is working with booksellers to make announcements through out the day to shoppers to raise awareness about the drive.

In the past, book drives were set up for reading foundations, Head Start, or deployed service people over the holidays.

However, Ruthanne Devlin, community relations manager for Barnes and Noble, said that this partnership provides help and cheer to entire families across all ages.

The drive includes books suitable for adults as well as board games.

Currently, the drive includes only new items purchased in the store. People wishing to donate books from their own collection should contact their local food banks directly. Contact Bremerton Food Line at 360-479-6188.