The 2025 Food For The Hungry LIVE and Drive has exceeded its goal of $340,000.

PRESS RELEASE
Contact Olivia Greenich Stern
Food For The Hungry Digital Content & Marketing Director
(330) 260-4059
contact@foodforthehungrycares.org

DEC. 22, 2024.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
HEADLINE: The 2025 Food For The Hungry LIVE and Drive has exceeded its goal of $340,000.
 
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio — The 44th anniversary of the Food For The Hungry Drive brought Knox County residents, businesses, schools, and organizations together to help fight food insecurity. With a goal to raise $340,000 and as much food as possible, the total as of December 22nd, 2025, is $360,400.22 and 23.5 truckloads of food.

The drive supports food assistance projects and provides emergency client services through Interchurch Social Services, The Salvation Army, and other food assistance organizations of Knox County.

Volunteers staffed 10 collection points around the county on Friday, December 12th, to collect food and money, while local media combined to produce Food For The Hungry LIVE, an eight-hour web and radio simulcast. Thanks to the hundreds of volunteers who made Drive Day a success - including FFTH board members, 90.9FM WNZR staff, 93.7FM The Super Q and 100.9FM WMVO staff, MVNU students and faculty, WRP CPAs staff, and many more!

During FFTH LIVE, a record of 24 Winter Grants totaling $65,000 were presented to county projects involving food assistance. The recipients will use their grants for food initiatives that range from food pantries to weekend meal assistance for students.

• A special grant of $10,000 went to the Salvation Army of Mount Vernon.        

• This grant will help them purchase a freezer and refrigerator for a new Choice Pantry! The new units will be installed as part of the Salvation Army’s renovation. This will allow families to “shop” for food that fits the needs of their family rather than receive pre-selected food.

• A grant of $6,000 went to First Church of the Nazarene for their Father’s Table Pantry and Hot Meal.

-   Throughout the winter months they serve families with children through both their hot meal and pantry programs. In the past 6 months, they have served 81 households where children reside. They also have a number of families that attend their hot meal program on Wednesday night. This grant money will be used to purchase food needed to maintain these programs.
 
Grants of $3,500 went to:

• Central Christian Church Food Pantry

 -  They operate a monthly food pantry through the Central Church facility in Mount Vernon. Their clients receive a box of canned goods, including soups, pasta, canned vegetables, and canned meat (when available). They also give out flour, cooking oil, and juices along with fresh produce, frozen meat, and eggs.

• Church on the Rise Food Pantry

-  They provide food and other products to people in need in the county by distributing food/other items every third Saturday of the month.

• Covenant Church Food Pantry

- Covenant Church Food Pantry is a group of volunteers (mostly members of the church) who work hard to obtain food and distribute it monthly to families in need. The money will be used to restock their shelves.
 
Grants of $3,000 went to:

• First Church of the Nazarene East Knox Food Bags

- This grant will be used to purchase food that will be given to families who need assistance over the weekends and winter breaks from school. Many of these are families with 8-10 members. The students do not have access to the school breakfast and lunch provided during the school week and are often left on their own to fulfill nutritional needs.

• Lifepoint Church of Mount Vernon Backpacks of Hope

-   Backpacks of Hope provides weekly weekend meals during the school year for students who are at risk of going without adequate food. This year, the program serves children from Dan Emmett, East, Columbia, Twin Oak, Pleasant Street, and Wiggin Street Elementary Schools, as well as the Knox County Career Center preschool and Absolutely Loved Learning Center.

• Knox County Head Start - Head Start School Break Food Boxes

- During school breaks, Head Start children who typically receive 1/2 to 2/3 of their daily recommended nutrition in classrooms miss out on meals. The Knox County Head Start provides support for nutrition over Winter and Spring breaks with food boxes that include all the ingredients needed and recipes to prepare up to three dinners, breakfasts, and healthy snacks.

• ACTS Food Pantry - Balanced Meals for Healthy Families

- This project will provide fresh ground beef or diced chicken to the families who come to the pantry in need. They want to make sure that everyone who comes to the food pantry will walk away with everything they will need to make complete meals at home. They plan to print out quick, healthy recipes to go along with the canned foods and proteins that are provided to families.
 
Grants of $2,500 went to:

• CHOMP Ministries Free Pop-Up Fresh Produce Market 2026

- CHOMP is a program extension of the Mid-Ohio Food Collective geared toward providing fresh produce to low-income community members. Pop-up produce markets are non-storage facility organizations. Seasonal produce is picked up on the event day and distributed fully within hours. All leftover CHOMP produce is contracted to Interchurch Social Services in Mount Vernon immediately following the market.

• The Escape Zone - EZ Diner

- The Escape Zone will provide meals to EZ children on Friday nights. The aim is to provide kid-friendly meals that also include healthy items like fresh fruits and vegetables and lean protein.

• Gay Street United Methodist - Friday Night Community Hot Meals

-  For at least 10 years, they have been serving the community through the Friday night Hot Meals program. On the third Friday of each month, they offer “The Closet” - they hand out taxable items such as personal hygiene, feminine products, and other essentials.

• Knox County Career Center Food Pantry

- The Knox County Career Center Student Services Food Pantry provides various food items, hygiene product, and school supplies.

• First Presbyterian Church Hot Meal

- A free balanced meal to anyone who needs it, served every Monday evening throughout the year.
 
Grants of $1,500 went to:

• Jacqueline McCalla-Cordle Children's Fund – 2026 Spring Break Distribution

- For the 2026 Spring Break project. They will be providing families in the Centerburg Local School District with nine days of food support—each day including three meals and one snack.

• Knox County Task Force For Older Adults – Holiday Meals for Homebound Seniors

- The project will provide 120-240 holiday meal bags to homebound Knox County seniors in need. The meal bags are delivered by volunteers to carefully selected recipients to ensure they qualify as a Knox senior in need. Each meal bag typically includes a pre-cooked ham, canned vegetables, fresh fruit, instant potatoes, and rolls.

• Alcohol and Drug Freedom Center of Knox County – Healthy Snack Program

- The Freedom Center’s Healthy Snack Program provides snacks to all clients attending appointments at our Knox County locations. In addition to snacks, the program offers limited emergency food or groceries to adults and families facing acute hunger.

• Winter Sanctuary Emergency Homeless Shelter – Food for the Unhoused

- The Winter Sanctuary is the only emergency homeless shelter in Knox County. These funds allow them to purchase fresh fruit, grab-and-go breakfast items, and gift cards for fast-food restaurants to support guests who are unable to attend local hot meal programs.

• Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church Sunday Sanctuary - Sunday Sanctuary

- Sunday Sanctuary provides breakfast, a late lunch, an afternoon snack, and a warm, safe environment for our homeless guests to nap, talk, watch movies, listen to music on their phones, and just enjoy a welcoming space.

• Fredericktown Senior Activity Center

- They provide well-balanced meals, games, exercises, crafts, and a place to socialize. They also offer recreational outings into the community for local Seniors.

• Byron Saunders Foundation - Thanksgiving Meal Boxes

- Provides a free Thanksgiving meal box to families with everything needed to cook a complete Thanksgiving meal. Serves about 600 families

• TouchPointe Community Resources - Healing our Community Project

- The Healing the Community project provides faith-based mentoring, relationship education, and job readiness training to individuals and families impacted by addiction, incarceration, and relational trauma. Meals are provided during healing sessions to build trust and community.
 
Grants of $1,000 went to:

• Mount Vernon Association of Police Chaplains - First Response Family Support Initiative

- The First Response Family Support Initiative, led by the Mount Vernon Association of Police Chaplains (MVAPC), provides immediate food and lodging assistance to Knox County residents experiencing crisis situations such as domestic violence, house fires, medical emergencies, or sudden displacement.

• Afterglow Christian Mission House

- Breakfast and lunch 7 days/week. Snacks for programming throughout the week.
 
The Psi Iota Xi Sorority’s Elementary School Drive gave Knox County’s youngest a chance to participate in FFTH’s efforts, and they rose to the challenge. Elementary Schools across the county collected a total of $18,054.23 and 6,633 food items - that’s 5.313 truckloads of food.
 
School Totals:

• Centerburg Elementary: $1,870 and 450 food items.
• Danville Elementary: $270 and 275 food items.
• East Knox Elementary: $924.75 and 468 food items.
• Fredericktown Elementary: $2,415 and 664 food items.
• Columbia Elementary: $1,642.10 and 584 food items.
• Dan Emmett Elementary: $245.47 and 837 food items.
• East Elementary: $1,185.75 and 727 food items.
• MV Middle School: $1,661 and 237 food items.
• Pleasant Street Elementary: $878.52 and 683 food items.
• St Vincent de Paul: $1,073.93 and 414 food items.
• Twin Oak Elementary: $2,886.16 and 765 food items.
• Wiggin Street Elementary: $3,001.55 and 529 food items.

The Knox County High School collection was a huge success. Local High Schools collected a total of $9,874.48 and 8,781 food items! That is 7.04 trucks!
School Totals: 

• Centerburg High School: $156.25.
• Fredericktown High School: $1,562.57 and 364 food items.
• East Knox High School: $928.82.
• The Knox County Career Center: $7,226.84 and 2,417 food items.
  • The winning labs were:
    • Can Wars – HVAC. They brought in 1,318 food items.
    • Coin Wars – Sports Medicine. They brought in $413.81.
    • Overall Lab Winner – Collision Repair. They brought in $1,806.79.
    • The Spring Car Show brought in $1,300.
    • The T-Shirt and Sweatshirt Sales at the Fall Open House brought in $316.

 
The top class in the top 3 schools will receive a pizza party from the Mount Vernon Rotary Club and Food For The Hungry.
KCCC students and staff also contributed to and organized the KCCC Basket Auction. Each basket was filled with items and certificates donated by local organizations, individuals, and KCCC school labs. The 2025 Online Silent Auction of themed gift baskets brought in a total of $4,064. This auction included 14 themed baskets and two individual items. The OSU basket filled with goodies for Buckeye fans was donated by the OSU Alumni Club of Knox County.

The KCCC Auction totals for 2025:
Car Care #1 Basket – $240, Buyer – Tricia Mullins
Car Care #2 Basket - $300, Buyer – Bob Tiell
Downtown Date Night Basket - $325, Buyer – Bob Tiell
Family Fun Basket - $325, Buyer -McKenzie Doup
Foodies Basket - $484, Buyer – Richard Primm
Gallagher Center Rental and Basket - $250, Buyer – Sarah Colon
For Her Basket - $175, Buyer – Nate Bellman
For Him Basket - $200, Buyer – Bob Tiell
Kid’s Electric Bicycle - $375, Buyer – Bette Mishey
Lashley Training Center Membership - $150, Buyer – Devyn Miles
Mohican Getaway Basket - $330, Buyer – Dan Matheny
Northern Getaway Basket - $250, Buyer – Olivia Stern
OSU Basket - $125, Buyer – Kathy Greenich
Pork BBQ Basket #1 - $160, Buyer – Karri Daubenmier
Pork BBQ Basket #2 - $160, Buyer – Gloria Yerxa
Wood Pellets (1 ton) - $155, Buyer – Andy Frye
Helmet - $60, Buyer – Wess McKown

The OVERALL Total raised from the Knox County Career Center – student collections plus the online auction = $11,290.84 and 2,417 food items.

The FFTH Snowflake Gala hosted at Kenyon College continues to be a significant contributor to FFTH. Despite the snow, the Snowflake Gala took place on Saturday evening, December 13th. The Gala fundraising totaled $89,616.57! Gala committee members presented this year's William A. Stroud Jr. Award for Community Service to Bruce Jacklin. The Gala was themed Old Hollywood as a tribute to Jacklin’s significant contribution to local theater.

The Kenyon College President’s annual holiday reception collected $500 and 1,000 food items.

Mount Vernon Nazarene University (MVNU) hosted several collection events through the Faith Works Program to create hunger awareness and support FFTH.

• Change Wars: $705.69
• Mario Kart Tournament: $70
• Bring a Buck to Chapel: $779.06
• Advent Service: $69
• Happy Bean Coffee Shop’s FFTH Week: $400
• Esther Jetter Preschool - $880 and 175 food items
• MVNU Athletics’ FFTH Basketball Game: $350
• Snowflake Gala Table Sponsorship: $1,000
• Purchases in the Snowflake Gala Fund-A-Cause Auction: $800
• Faculty/Staff Collections/Presidential Ask - $2,000
• Dr. Carson Castleman’s Presidential Match - $1,000

MVNU’s Total: $8,168,74 and 205 food items.
MVNU presented the Stephen W. Zelkowitz Memorial Award to Captain Christine Moretz of the Salvation Army of MV on FFTH LIVE. This annual honor goes to a citizen of Knox County who exemplifies the spirit of community service, with a particular focus on their outstanding contributions to Food For The Hungry. Stephen W Zelkowitz, former president and general manager of Mount Vernon Broadcasting and president of Cablevision, was a prominent community leader known for his involvement in various charitable events. Zelkowitz, along with Charlie Kilkenny, played a pivotal role in leading the Food For The Hungry Initiative in Knox County.

Captain Moretz has been a significant influence of grace and love as she has worked tirelessly to help anyone in need within Knox County. Several influential community members, including MV Mayor Matt Starr, congratulated Moretz with heartfelt testimonials on the broadcast. 
The Seventh Annual Food For The Hungry Service Club Competition was a huge success, with a total of $18,353 raised. Congratulations to the VFW Post #4027 for being the TOP Club in the challenge. They collected $10,000 and were featured on FFTH LIVE. Thanks to the other Service Clubs that participated in the challenge:

• Soroptomist Club of Mount Vernon and Knox County - $6,100.
• Moose Lodge #2555 and #100 - $900.
• Elks Lodge - $500.
• Rotary Club of Mount Vernon - $453.
• Harrison Grange #1711 - $200.
• Lions Club - $100.
• South Vernon United Methodist Women - $50.
• Loyal Women and Men’s Class of Grove Church - $50.

 
Community organizations hosted several events to support Food For The Hungry. The various events catered to unique interests and allowed people to get out and have fun while supporting Food For The Hungry. Many of the events had record collections this year, and each event significantly contributed to the Drive Goal.
 
Events include:

• Praisestock - $1,108.28.
• The Knox County Jazz Orchestra Concert - $1,104.66 and 157 food items.
• WeRunMV’s 15th Annual Turkey Trot - $1,837 and 663 items. 254 runners/walkers and multiple dogs participated.
• Knox County Park District’s “Fire and Ice” - $2,227 and 706 food items.
• Elvis' Lost Brother (Eric Bressi) at Rural King - $502 and 15 food items.
• The 2024 Danville Wreath Auction - $250.
• The 2024 Centerburg Wreath Auction - $608.

 
Other notable donations from local businesses and organizations:

• Ariel Corporation - $10,000.
• Kokosing Inc. - $10,000.
• Knox County Foundation - $5,000.
• Mortellaro McDonald's - $2,000.
• Starting Over Enterprises INC dba Park Mall - $2,000.
• Helen E. Zelkowitz Fund - $1,560.
• Danville Elementary School Student Council “Feather Fundraiser” - $1,212.
• The Retreat/Oakwood Management - $1,000.
• Knox County Democratic Party - $760 and 657 food items.
• AMVETS Post 95 and Ladies Auxiliary Post #95 - $500.
• Knox County Realtors: $300.
• Apple Valley Lake Social Club: 4,000 food items.
• Country Club Rehabilitation of Mount Vernon - 1,264 food items.
• Public Library of Mount Vernon and Knox County – 500 food items.
• Knox Community Hospital - collected 350 food items and sponsored a billboard.
• CES Credit Union - 250 boxes of stuffing and sponsored a billboard.

 
There were many other generous donations. The $300 and Above Donors list can be found at www.foodforthehungrycares.org/top-donors-and-events

The collection points played a pivotal role in the collection on Drive Day. Thank you to those who volunteered at the collection points and those who donated at these locations: the Hometown Markets in Centerburg and Danville, Freddy Chevy in Fredericktown, The Village Market in Gambier, and Kroger, Aldi, Lanning’s Foods, Baker’s IGA, Wal-Mart Supercenter, and the Knox Memorial in Mount Vernon. Tracy Elliott and the OSU Alumni Club helped organize trucks donated by local dealerships for the collection points. A local Chevy dealer donated trucks to collect food for the first FFTH drive in 1982, and these local dealers continued the tradition this year: A+ Auto Brokers, Donley Ford of MV, GM Center of MV, Fredericktown Chevrolet, and Vess Auto.

FFTH wants to thank Megan Evans, Martin Booker, and their team with the Mount Vernon Arts Consortium for their use of the Knox Memorial and their amazing support! Also, Mohican Sports Medicine, Bob and Gwen Tiell, Barb Grabow, and Lori Lybarger for organizing and serving all the meals and snacks for our FFTH broadcast volunteers on Monday, Thursday, and Friday. We also recognize Audrey Spearman, who would have been helping if she were able. Thank you to the local restaurants and businesses that donated food throughout the week: Mazza's, Kroger, Dairy Queen, Southside Diner, Wendy's, McDonald's, Lanning’s, Dunkin', Donato’s, Pizza Doc, and Tim Hortons.

FFTH wants to thank ALL of Knox County for making the success of the 2025 Drive possible. Every dollar made a difference, and your generosity continues to amaze us. We are honored to be a part of this community and to be entrusted with your donations as we strive to fulfill our mission of addressing food insecurity and disrupting the poverty cycle in Knox County. Donations to the FFTH Drive are still being accepted until Dec. 31. Donate at www.FoodForTheHungryCares.org. You may also walk in or mail cash or check donations to: WRP CPA’s, 1684 Venture Dr., Suite B, Mount Vernon, OH 43050 (Designated Food For The Hungry).

www.FoodForTheHungryCares.org has history, photos, radio interviews, and more. The video archive of Saturday’s broadcast is also available at MVNU.tv in the on-demand tab and will be available for a full year.
Food For The Hungry, celebrating 44 Years of Working Together To Care For Our Neighbors.
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Photo Captains
8982 - Volunteers staff The Village Market collection point in Gambier on FFTH Drive Day.
7705 - Curtis Newland interviews Louie Blubaugh from Blubaugh Body & Frame in front of a truck of food from the Psi Iota Xi Elementary School Drive.
7727 - Jeff Mabe and Santa collect donations on High Street in front of Knox Memorial on FFTH Drive Day.