A nonprofit organization is reporting overwhelming demand for an annual program designed to help people during the Christmas holidays.

House of Friendship, an organization based in Waterloo Region, opened registration for its Christmas food program on November 1.

In a social media post later that day, the organization said: “Due to the incredible need for this service in the community, we received over 1,000 requests in the first hour. The phone line has been cut and the website is currently in queue with 986 people waiting.

Hours later, House of Friendship posted an update, saying it was still actively working on registering as many participants as possible.

The Christmas food program helps low-income people in the Waterloo region. According to the Friendship House website, more than 4,600 families received a frozen turkey and a gift card to help them prepare a special holiday meal.

The program is possible through the combined efforts of the Rotary Club of Kitchener Conestoga’s annual turkey drive, other community donations and hundreds of volunteers.