Martial Arts Family Fitness, a family-owned and operated school dedicated to improving lives through martial arts, announced Monday that for the fourth consecutive year it successfully coordinated an Adopt-a-Family program for Thanksgiving.

Students, instructors and staff of the school worked together to feed less fortunate families in the Santa Barbara area as part of a national project called the “Thanksgiving Basket Brigade.”

“Thanksgiving is a very special time of the year, a time for family and friends, and a time to express gratitude,” said Melodee Meyer, co-owner of Martial Arts Family Fitness. “Our ‘family’ of martial artists fed over 180 families last year, and almost 400 families since we started in 2010. Our goal for this year was to provide full Thanksgiving meals to over 200 local families that otherwise might not be able to celebrate and enjoy the holiday.

“Many of our neighbors are still feeling the adverse effects of the economic downturn, and we want to give back. We, as a school and a business, certainly have a lot to be grateful for. Part of who we are is to give thanks and share in this gratitude.”

The Adopt-a-Family program allows students, staff and their families to donate money that is used to purchase food, which in turn is included in food baskets. Students and staff assemble the baskets and then distribute them to families that have been identified. Donations start at $25, and a $50 donation fills a basket with a complete dinner for the adopted family. The basket includes all the makings of a Thanksgiving dinner, including a turkey, stuffing, vegetables, sweet potatoes, dinner rolls, butter and pie. Baskets were assembled and delivered this past Saturday.

“As health professionals and members of this great community, we feel that it is important to help others,” said Karina Muñoz, a staff member at Martial Arts Family Fitness and coordinator of the Basket Brigade. “It is important to me, personally, that others are able to enjoy a special meal at this time of year. Each year we reach out to local businesses to ensure that we get the freshest items to include in the baskets, and work with local charities to help us identify families that can benefit from the Basket Brigade.”

Meyer added: “Baskets were assembled at our school on Saturday. Our incredible volunteers assembled and delivered the baskets immediately after. It is always amazing to see the reaction of the families we help. We are so proud of our students for all their hard work in making this a successful community event where we can help take care of each other.”

For information on Martial Arts Family Fitness, click here or call 805.963.6233.

— Alex Rodriguez represents Martial Arts Family Fitness.