Sizzlin' Summer continues with Christmas in July

Jul. 18—HERMITAGE — As the Mercer County Food Bank's Sizzlin' Summer fundraising campaign continues, local families are invited to the upcoming Christmas in July event at Vey's Pub and Grille.

The event will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Vey's restaurant, at 3176 E. State St., Hermitage.

Participants are encouraged to come dressed in their Christmas best and take photos with the Grinch.

Vey's will donate 15% of the evening's dining proceeds, with additional proceeds collected that evening from the sale of select specialty drinks, according to a press release.

Food bank Development Director Alexis Spence-Locke said the event will offer something for the whole family, from drinks for adults to a coloring station for children.

"They can enjoy a meal together, they can get family photos with the Grinch — we're looking to make it a fun, family-based event," Spence-Locke said.

Christmas in July is the second of three Sizzlin' Summer events. The first event, Tiki Trivia, was held at The Block by Nova in downtown Sharon on June 21.

When planning for Christmas in July, Spence-Locke said food bank officials were already familiar with Vey's through the business' past support of the food bank, including donations and food drives.

Spence-Locke said she tries to draw upon her own experience as a mother when planning events that can be enjoyed by whole families.

Getting children involved in awareness and fundraising efforts at an early age is also important to help meet the community's future needs.

"I think making children aware that a lot of their friends may be going hungry is important, because kids are our future food bankers, donors, and volunteers," Spence-Locke said.

For every $1 given, the Mercer County Food Bank can provide four meals to food insecure neighbors, the release states.

So far in 2024, the food bank has distributed more than 1.5 million pounds of food, which is more than half the food distributed in 2023.

Map the Meal Gap, a study released by Feeding America, shows that 4,390 children (20.9% of residents under the age of 18) living in Mercer County struggle daily with food insecurity, meaning they don't know where their next meal will come from, the release states.

Food bank Executive Director Rebecca Page said in the release that the food bank's distribution is trending 17% higher than at this time last year.

"As grocery prices remain high, we are seeing more people in line for food assistance throughout our communities in Mercer County," she said.

"Approximately 12,000 people each month are receiving food assistance from MCFB and its nearly 40 member agencies."

The next Sizzlin' Summer event will be a cornhole tournament on Aug. 10, at Talbot's Taproom and Terrace, 787 Mercer-Grove City Road, Mercer.

Interested cornhole participants should begin signing up "now" as the event is limited to the first 20 teams and the cost is $20 per registered team, the release states.

For more information on Sizzlin' Summer or for how to get involved this summer to help sack summer hunger, contact Patty Tucker at [email protected] or 724-981-0353 ext. 103.

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