Jacksonville Food Center Named 2025 .5k Benefactor

By Jeremy Coumbes on January 25, 2025 at 1:29pm

The benefactor of this years Jacksonville Kiwanis .5k event has been announced and this year the committee chose an organization both close to the race course, and near to their hearts.

Earlier this month, the Kiwanis put out a call for applications to be benefactor of the annual .5k, an event that sees participants walk, run, skip, or roll their way across the downtown square between Bahan’s Tavern and Don’s Place.

Like all public Kiwanis events, the goal of the .5k is to help raise funds that benefit children in the area. Marcy Patterson with the Jacksonville Kiwanis Club says you don’t have to be an athlete to participate in the event that annually helps give a local non-profit a healthy shot in the fundraising arm.

It doesn’t require any exercise it just requires a lot of energy and the willingness to have some fun. We’ve had this event every year for about ten years now and it normally ends with us presenting a ten thousand dollar check to someone.”

The Kiwanis had a tough task as nearly twenty organizations applied to receive the .5k funds this year. After pouring over the applications though, the Jacksonville Area Community Food Center stood out and was named the recipient.

Melissa Hall with the Food Center says she is overjoyed the Food Center was chosen because the need for food security in the Jacksonville area continues to grow. “When Marcy called me, at first I was in shock, but then when she told me how it had transpired I was thrilled and very excited.

Everybody is gracious and generous during the holidays, but with the new year starting it kind of goes by the wayside so this will certainly help fill in some gaps for us. Every month [the need] is just higher than that month the year before. So, I mean the need is there and it’s just steadily climbing.”

The Jacksonville Kiwanis .5k, benefiting the Jacksonville Area Community Food Center will be held on April 5th beginning at 8:00 am. This year’s event starts at Bahan’s and travels to Don’s Place.

The cost is $25.00 ahead of time, and $35.00 after March 21st. Each participant will receive a commemorative shirt. To register or to find out more information, go to the Jacksonville Kiwanis Club page on Facebook or ask any Kiwanian for a registration form.

Hall says she is thankful for the support from the event and community. “That’s the main thing, I mean the community has certainly come together for us and we love it and appreciate it and it’s that continued support that makes us run.”

The Jacksonville Area Community Food Center is located at 311 East Morgan Street in Jacksonville. You can donate directly to the center by postal mail or by stopping by the center. They also now accept donations via PayPal and Venmo.

More information can be found on the Jacksonville Area Community Food Center Facebook page.