Goal to raise funds for Harvest for the Hungry

The Ironton First Nazarene Church will have a community event on Sunday to support the Harvest for the Hungry food pantry.

Starting at 6 p.m., it will feature the Ironton High School Varsity Singers in concert.

Pastor Rob Hale said a couple of hundred attend the event, including the church’s congregation and the students’ parents, but the concert is open to the whole community.

“We really try to encourage the community to attend,” he said.

The church is having the fundraiser to help the food pantry during the upcoming holiday season when demand for food goes up.

“They really, really get bombarded for food and we want to help,” Hale explained. “This is just another way the community can take up an offering for them.

And every bit of money goes to the Harvest for the Hungry food pantry.”

In this case, the church is asking for donations of money, not food. Hale explained that it might cost someone $2.89 to buy a jar of peanut butter.

“That same money can buy so much more food, because the food pantry can get food for 19 cents a pound,” Hale explained. “They buy dry goods and food in bulk, so they can take that same $2.89 and just stretch it so much farther than we can.”

The food pantry gets its food through a couple of different cooperatives.

“They manage the money so well,” Hale said. “And there is such a need for food in this area.”

He said at a recent town hall event, Ironton Mayor Katrina Keith explained how 33 percent of the population of the town is on some kind of public assistance.

“So there is just a big need in our town,” Hale said.

This year, Harvest for the Hungry has a goal of giving away 500 Thanksgiving dinners.

The  Ironton First Nazarene Church is located at the corner of Fourth and Pleasant streets.

Anyone wishing to donate to Harvest for the Hungry can call Lois Terkhorn at 740-646-4188.