A Bad Santa for a good cause. That’s the idea of an annual food drive at downtown Handsome Devil Ink tattoo shop. Owners Maggie and Ryan Hammond were able to generate hundreds of pounds of food and cash for Renton folks in need.

This was the fourth year of the Bad Santa Food Drive. Hammond said if you have the opportunity to do something bigger for the local community, you should put your best foot forward and do it, which is why they started the event. He also loves the community of downtown Renton, where he has both worked and lived for some years now, and it’s helped him want to give back.

“It’s great to see the community have something come from what we do and for the people we see down here all the time to appreciate what we’re doing,” Hammond said.

The food drive, Saturday, Dec. 14, has changed a little over the years with more activities. Now those who come in can be in an amateur tattoo race, using fake skin, with a prize for best artist. They also have, true to the name, a “Bad Santa” that folks can capture take home Polaroid pictures with. Hammond said the attendees include a lot of tattoo shop clientele and fans of the shop. He said the drive and event caters towards 18 and up as a tattoo shop.

The drive has also changed recipients: from Northwest Food Harvest to Maple Valley Food Bank and then to Renton food bank through Salvation Army. This also gave the event more direct help for Renton folks.

This year the shop collected 842 pounds of food, and received $422 in donations for the food bank. Over the past four years, they’ve donated several thousand pounds of food and thousands of dollars in cash to the different recipients.

“It’s fun to fundraise, have a good time and have some holiday cheer,” Hammond said.

Photo courtesy of Handsome Devil Ink. The annual Bad Santa Food Drive.