MOUNT VERNON, Ohio — Knox County’s service clubs have a friendly competition ahead of them, and local families stand to benefit from every dollar of it. Food For The Hungry invited service clubs across Knox County to join its annual Friendly Challenge, part of the organization’s 45th annual campaign, according to a Food For The Hungry release posted by the Knox County Chamber of Commerce on Monday, October 26. The campaign aims to raise $345,000 for food assistance for Knox County families, during the holidays and throughout the year.
The challenge is built around a multiplier that makes small donations go a long way. For every $1 donated, Food For The Hungry says the gift equals $4.56 in buying power at the Mid-Ohio Food Collective, letting donations stretch further and feed more people. Clubs compete with one another, but the release frames the rivalry as collaborative — each club’s fundraising multiplies its impact well beyond the dollars collected.
“We’re incredibly excited to see the community come together once again to support this important cause,” Tanner Cooper-Risser, Food For The Hungry’s Annual Drive and Community Relations Director, said in the release. “This is a great way for local clubs to make a direct impact on families in Knox County, especially during the holiday season when so many are struggling.”
Participating is straightforward. Clubs start collecting at the campaign kick-off on Friday, November 6, and the challenge runs through Friday, December 4, 2026. Donations go in an envelope marked with the organization’s name and indicating the funds are for Food For The Hungry, delivered to WRP CPAs, 1684 Venture Drive, Suite B, in Mount Vernon, by December 4. Anyone can give or volunteer through FoodForTheHungryCares.org.
Every participating club will be recognized during Food For The Hungry LIVE on Friday, December 11, 2026, and the top-raising club can send a representative to be featured on the live broadcast at the Memorial Building in Mount Vernon, according to the release. FFTH LIVE runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. from the Memorial Theater in Knox Memorial on East High Street, on 100.9 FM and 93.7 HD2 WMVO, with video at wnzr.tv and on the FFTH YouTube Channel.
The campaign is one of Knox County’s longest-running charitable traditions — a “working together to care for our neighbors” effort now in its 45th year, with updates on Facebook at @FoodForTheHungryKnoxCounty and Instagram at @FFTHCares. Its broader aim, the release says, is working together to disrupt the poverty cycle in Knox County, one donation, one club and one neighbor at a time.
For local families, the stakes are practical: holiday-drive money supports food assistance all year, and the multiplier turns a club’s collection into several times its face value in food. Clubs have until November 6 to organize and December 4 to deliver their envelopes — before the county learns on December 11 which club raised the most, and how close the 45th campaign came to $345,000.