MOUNT VERNON – For the past 35 years, Food For The Hungry of Knox County (FFTH) has helped our neighbors in need through an annual drive to collect food and funds for the Salvation Army and Interchurch Social Services. The idea began in 1982 with local WMVO radio personality Charlie Kilkenny and his wife, Carol, who responded with a simple food and money drive to address the closing of a local plant near Christmas time. That idea has grown over the years to include the support of legacy partners BAS Broadcasting, WNZR, Mount Vernon News, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, WRP CPA’s, and Spectrum Cable. Since 2013, additional community and corporate partners have been added to the board, including Kokosing River Productions, Psi Iota Xi, Kenyon College, the Knox County Career Center, KnoxPages.com, First Knox National Bank, Delta Kappa Gamma and Central Ohio Technical College.
Donations come from all sectors of the community – school children, service organizations, businesses and individuals – who want to make a difference. Last year, the Food For The Hungry effort raised over $240,000 and over 28 truckloads of food.
This year, FFTH will again reach out into the community and make $20,000 in funds available to other non-profits who distribute food to the needy. This will be the fifth year of this initiative.
Food for the Hungry welcomes applications for grants up to $2,000 per organization. Grants are awarded with consideration of the number of people being served and the number of monthly volunteers involved.
The grant application is located on the FFTH website, www.FoodfortheHungryCares.org. The application link is located under the ‘Who We Help’ tab. Applications are due by Wednesday, November 22, at 1:00 p.m. Grant awardees will be notified by Tuesday, December 5 and announced during the Food For The Hungry live video and radio broadcast on Saturday, December 9 at the Knox County Memorial Theater.
For more information on the grant application process, contact FFTH Coordinator Lisa Mazzari at (740) 481-2444.