Applefest committee donates $3,148

Amount is equal to what it costs to run food pantry for two weeks.

LEBANON — For the fourth consecutive year, the Country Applefest committee has donated at least $3,000 to the Lebanon Food Pantry.

On Monday, representatives of the Applefest committee presented Phyllis Wyatt, the president of the food pantry, with a check for $3,148.70. And that total could rise if the bills for the 29th annual Applefest held in September come in under budget, said Jiffy Stiles, committee chairwoman.

When Wyatt saw the check, she gasped.

“We are just so grateful to them, they are wonderful,” she said. “Without people like these, we would not be able to feed people.”

Also, during the holidays, the committee — run by Stiles, Rita Jackson, Cindy Fugate, Pat Kirk, Kathy Stine and Tish Powers — will buy gifts for local nursing home residents who don’t have families.

“It just goes back to the community as much as we can,” said Stiles about proceeds for the annual Country Applefest held in downtown Lebanon in September.

The check presented this week to the pantry is about what it costs to run the program — which receives regular donations from Walmart and Kroger — for about two weeks, said Wyatt, who added that the need keeps growing.

Through September, more than 4,000 families, made up of about 7,899 people, received food from the pantry. That’s up from 3,540 families and 6,938 family members through September 2010.

“It doesn’t quit,” Wyatt said about the need for food. “The summer months are tough.”

The food pantry at 190 New St. is open 9 a.m. to noon Monday, Wednesday and Friday and 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2175 or michael.pitman@coxinc. com. Follow at

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