Ohio Church’s 20K-Pound Thanksgiving Food Giveaway Brings Hope to Families

By Christian Headlines | Created at 2024-11-27 15:54:42 | Updated at 2024-11-27 18:49:10 3 hours ago

This Thanksgiving, an Ohio-based church will provide roughly 20,000 pounds of food, including 300 turkeys and other necessities, to families in need.

The event, titled “Give Back Before You Kick Back,” will take place Wednesday evening at Rust City Church, a congregation based in Niles that averages around 1,000 worship attendees weekly. The church is located at the Eastwood Mall parking lot, which is also the location of the church campus.

According to Karl Wendel, who serves as Outreach Pastor of Rust City Church, additional necessities, such as diapers for parents with babies, will be distributed.

“A combination of generous donations from our congregation, partnerships with local businesses, and our collaboration with Second Harvest Food Bank, whose support has been instrumental in helping us reach this milestone,” Wendel told The Christian Post.

Additionally, the church will provide hot cocoa and hot dogs for visitors, who will also be offered prayer by church volunteers.

In contrast to last year’s Give Back Before You Kick Back event, which reached 350 local families, organizers expect that number to reach 400 this year.

“The scale has grown significantly, reflecting our church’s deepened commitment to serving the community and addressing food insecurity,” Wendel explained.

“We hope to convey God’s love and care through this outreach, reminding people they are seen, valued, and not alone,” the pastor added. “This is about more than meeting physical needs — it’s about fostering hope and connection.”

In addition to the annual Thanksgiving food giveaway, Rust City church also reaches local people in need with its “Midweek Outreach,” which distributes groceries for up to 150 families a week.

“Rust city cares about hunger,” the church website states.

“We’re proud to serve thousands of pounds of food TO OUR COMMUNITY EVERY WEEK, and our heart is set on helping alleviate the food scarcity in Trumbull County for anyone who needs assistance.”

Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.