MOUNT VERNON — Jeff Mabe saw it all Friday.
The outreach pastor at Covenant Church in Mount Vernon volunteered as one of several donation collectors during the Food For The Hungry drive. He stood on the yellow line dividing East High Street, in front of the Knox Memorial, and he collected monetary donations in a plastic bucket from people driving by.
It wasn’t his first year doing this. But the generosity of his community still managed to amaze him.
He watched as people of all ages, and all walks of life, pulled up to pitch in. They came in 20-year-old sedans and brand-new pickups; tractor trailers and minivans. They dropped in checks of $2,000, $100 bills, and whatever change was left in their center consoles.
They gave what they could.
“A lot of people would just empty out their ashtrays or cup holders, and that might be a dollar or it might be $20 in change,” Mabe recalled. “But it all adds up.”
It was this spirit – this all-hands-on-deck, we-over-me attitude – that fueled this year’s drive, like so many in years past. And it was this spirit that once again pushed Food For The Hungry past its goal, guaranteeing thousands upon thousands of meals for Knox County’s most at-risk individuals in the coming year.
Food For The Hungry raised approximately $274,000 on Friday, surpassing its 2022 goal of $250,000. Over 18 truckloads of food were also collected.Â
“(It’s) very hopeful and very exciting,” Food For The Hungry Executive Director Lisa Mazzari said Friday. “Even though we’re all struggling – prices at the grocery store, gasoline – even though we’re all struggling, you still see that kindness and the generosity in the community, for others.”
Donations to Food For The Hungry will be accepted through Dec. 31 on the organization’s website. The final donation total will be divided four ways:
— 38% will go to the Salvation Army of Mount Vernon
— 38% will go to Interchurch Social Services (which has offices in Centerburg, Danville, Fredericktown and Mount Vernon)
— 16% will go to Food For The Hungry’s grant program, which benefits smaller, more targeted food-assistance initiatives (there were 25 grant recipients this year)
— 8% will be used to cover Food For The Hungry’s annual organizational costs
The organizations on the receiving end of Food For The Hungry donations will use them in a variety of ways. While some funds will be used to stock food pantry shelves and maintain snack/meal programs, others will be used to provide emergency services for clients – such as financial aid (including rent and utility assistance), medical transportation and prescription assistance.
All donations to Food For The Hungry stay in Knox County, and those who donate are able to designate food or funds for a specific community within the county, such as Centerburg, Danville, Fredericktown or Mount Vernon.
The goal of the annual drive is to help fight food insecurity and make essential services available for Knox County’s most at-risk individuals. It began in 1982, when Charlie and Carol Kilkenny led a grassroots effort that holiday season to help those affected by a factory layoff in Mount Vernon.
Forty-one years later, the drive continues, serving as one of Knox County’s signature events – a community effort every year to reduce food insecurity and improve the quality of life for local individuals in need.
Joe Mazzari, the husband of Lisa and a longtime Food For The Hungry volunteer, said he was proud of this year’s donation total. It reflects the fact that four decades later, Knox County’s spirit of giving burns brighter than ever.
“They’re willing to do that, and they know that they’re gonna have to work a little bit harder to take care of themselves, but they’re willing to help out their neighbor,” Mazzari said of those who donated this holiday season.
“That’s just amazing, that they’ll go to that length to do that. I’ve never been anywhere else where that’s happened, honestly. Knox County is just phenomenal.”
THE DRIVE:Â Friday marked the culmination of months of planning and weeks of collecting for this year’s drive.
The campaign officially kicked off Nov. 1. Over the next five weeks, community members and local institutions hosted events to benefit Food For The Hungry, including everything from concerts and auctions to turkey trots and school drives.
These donation totals – along with checks and food items brought in by community members on drive day – were presented Friday during Food For The Hungry’s day-long live broadcast, co-hosted by WNZR and WMVO at the Knox Memorial.
The Kenyon Snowflake Gala, held Friday night, raised $54,590 during its live auction, while also contributing $50,000 separately during the afternoon broadcast.
The Battle of the Service Clubs (including three organizations from around Knox County) raised $4,474, with Soroptimist of Mount Vernon and Knox County leading the way. Fire and Ice, hosted by the Knox County Parks District, raised $1,100 on Friday night.Â
The Food For The Hungry Turkey Trot, held on Thanksgiving Day at Mount Vernon Nazarene University, raised $1,710. The high school drive, which included participation from five Knox County school districts, raised a record $20,311.08, with the Knox County Career Center leading the way at $17,250.09 (doubling last year’s amount).
The Career Center’s annual basket auction raised $5,160, while the Psi Iota Xi elementary school collection raised $11,936.46, with Fredericktown Elementary leading the way at $1,779.31. All 10 of the county’s elementary schools, as well as Mount Vernon Middle School, St. Vincent DePaul School and The Learning Center, participated in the competition.
Several other community events, including the Mount Vernon Christmas Walk, Fredericktown Christmas Walk, Christmas auctions in Centerburg and Danville, and Praisestock raised money for the drive.
But the rest of the money was raised through private donations, made by individuals and businesses.
Representatives from AMVETS Auxiliary, Park National Bank, Mortellaro McDonald’s, the Knox County Foundation, the Ariel Corporation, WMVO/WQIO and Mount Vernon Dental, and Mount Vernon Nazarene University all presented checks to Food For The Hungry during Friday’s broadcast.
Private citizens made their presence felt as well, donating throughout the year and on drive day.
SPRINT TO THE FINISH:Â The drive culminated Friday with an all-hands-on-deck effort to reach the finish line.
WNZR and WMVO joined forces to host an eight-hour live radio/TV broadcast in and around the Knox Memorial, which included grant presentations and donation announcements. Volunteers fanned out across Knox County, collecting food and funds from 12 different locations.
Mayors from all of Knox County’s municipalities – as well as the county commissioners – formally declared Friday “Food For The Hungry Day” in recent council meetings. Traffic on High Street was stop-and-go all day as drivers made curbside donations at the Knox Memorial.
WNZR’s Marcy Rinehart and WMVO’s Curtis Newland, who co-hosted the broadcast, announced new donation totals throughout the day. By 9:30 a.m., the total had reached $22,564. By noon, it had risen to $73,294.
The total climbed to $152,245 at 1:30 p.m., then to $187,516 at 3:30 p.m., before finishing 90 minutes later at $215,741.
The Snowflake Gala and Fire and Ice finished the job Friday night, pushing Food For The Hungry past its goal.
When asked late Friday what stood out the most about this year’s drive, Lisa Mazzari said the children. Knox County’s youth, both through elementary/middle and high school drives, contributed heavily to this year’s effort. Mazzari said this offers a hopeful glimpse into the community’s future, given who might be leading it.
“I think for me, seeing the kids and what the kids accomplished, and the Career Center being the driving force of that, and I think the one that spurs on the competition – you know, everyone aspires to be like them. But I just am so proud of the youth in our community, and how they turn out and how they’re really learning,” Mazzari said.
“They’re our future leaders, and they’re our future. They’re gonna replace me someday. They’re gonna replace each and every one of us that’s part of this committee someday. And it gives me hope, it gives me excitement for the future, because they started so young (with giving). I can’t even imagine what they’re going to be able to do by the time they’re in our shoes.”
In a year where inflation in the U.S. reached its highest point since 1981, Food For The Hungry still managed to meet – and surpass – its goal. Mazzari said it speaks to Knox County’s heart – its toughness, its pride, and the way it takes care of its own.
“I think it says we have probably the most compassionate and loving community I’ve ever seen. How many communities the size of Knox County would do such a thing?” Mazzari said.
“I worked for Interchurch and we used to go to a conference every year, and one of the breakouts in that conference talked about fundraising and how Interchurch had gotten the money that we were able to (distribute). And I would always talk about Food For The Hungry … and you could hear a pin drop in the room because they were all like, ‘What? That happens?’ I mean, Columbus can’t boast such a thing as little Knox County, Ohio (can).
“So it just tells me what special, loving people we have in this community – and unselfish, too. Because they’re helping. They’re helping our neighbors in need.”
Knox Pages is a member of Food For The Hungry’s Partner Board, alongside BAS Broadcasting, WNZR, the Mount Vernon News, Spectrum, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Kenyon College, WRP CPAs, Knox County Career Center, Psi Iota Xi Sorority and Park National Bank. The board, which governs and directs the annual fundraising campaign, also includes two at-large board members.
