For our Friday Favorites, our hosts on The Morning Thing shared their favorite Thanksgiving food! It is that time and we can’t wait to see all the food on our tables!
112125 Friday Favorites – Thanksgiving Foods!
Pop-up food distributions are happening!
We sat down with Austin Swallow, the Food For The Hungry Board President! They are getting started early this year by helping families with some pop-up food distributions in our community.
Austin tells us the motivation behind these events and he gives us the details on one happening very soon! He also talks about the upcoming Food For The Hungry Drive happening in December.
To learn more about FFTH click HERE!
Make Thanksgiving even better this year!
Today on The Morning Thing, Marcy and Xander explored some great ways to take Thanksgiving to the next level! These are tips that will make you and your family love the holiday even more.
Some of our favorites:
- Start a New Tradition
- Combine Travel with a Tourist Activity
- Choose a Friends-giving or a self-giving act
To view the full list click HERE! You won’t regret it!
MVNU’s performance of Handel’s Messiah is this Sunday!
We got the chance to speak with Dr. Bob Tocheff, MVNU Professor of Music, about their upcoming performance of Handel’s Messiah!
This is MVNU’s 57th performance and Bob has been directing for the past 35 years.
He shares with us an overview of the program and dives a little into each of the three parts. He also explains how this event helps MVNU students and how important it can be.
To learn more about the performance click HERE!
Thanksgiving is 1 week away! Are you ready?
Today, The Morning Thing shared some great advice on how to prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Here are some great tips that we found online to help you plan ahead and be ready to enjoy this special holiday.
🛒 1. Plan and Shop
- Finalize your menu. Decide exactly what dishes you’ll serve (and what guests might bring).
- Make a detailed grocery list. Include all ingredients, drinks, and supplies like foil, plastic wrap, and napkins.
- Do your big grocery run. Get non-perishables, frozen items, and anything that can store well for a week. (Avoid the last-minute rush!)
- Order your turkey. If you haven’t yet, make sure it’s purchased or reserved.
🦃 2. Prep the Turkey
- If you bought a frozen turkey, move it to the fridge to thaw — it can take up to 4–5 days depending on the size.
- Check you have a roasting pan, thermometer, and carving knife.
🍽️ 3. Get Your Kitchen Ready
- Clean out the fridge to make space for ingredients and leftovers.
- Sharpen knives and clean cookware, baking sheets, and serving dishes.
- Label serving platters or sticky-note them (“mashed potatoes here,” “stuffing here”) to stay organized.
🏡 4. Prepare Your Home
- Clean main areas (kitchen, dining room, bathrooms, entryway).
- Plan table seating and décor. Make sure you have enough chairs, plates, glasses, and utensils.
- Set aside time to decorate — candles, fall centerpieces, or a festive tablecloth go a long way.
🕒 5. Plan the Timeline
- Create a cooking schedule for the week and Thanksgiving Day. (e.g., pies the day before, casseroles in the morning, turkey in at noon.)
- Make a to-do list for each day leading up to the holiday.
👪 6. Coordinate with Guests
- Confirm who’s coming and what time they’ll arrive.
- Double-check who’s bringing what dishes or drinks.
- Plan for any dietary needs (vegetarian, gluten-free, etc.).
🍰 7. Start Early Prep
- Make and freeze pie dough, casseroles, or rolls if possible.
- Chop veggies ahead of time and store them in labeled containers.
- Prepare any make-ahead dishes like cranberry sauce or gravy base.
Byron Saunders Foundation Helps Give Thanksgiving Meals to Families in Need
Ginny Williams talked with WNZR’s Eric Brown about the Byron Saunders Foundation and some of it’s history.
Click HERE to hear the full conversation!
It started in 2003 with only 20 meals and its grown so much. It started with the idea of just helping families have meals and it’s grown to be such a large part of Thanksgiving. It just started with people checking on neighbors and now it gone beyond that to a widespread to reach families and have a meal on Thanksgiving.
Ginny talks about how families can get a meal for Thanksgiving. All you have to do is either call or text to get a full boxed meal and certificate to get meats for Thanksgiving by calling 740-324-9503 to help get signed up.
The last pickup for the year is this Saturday, November 22nd at their new facility at Habitat for Humanity in Mount Vernon.
She also talks about ways you can help support their work through donations and volunteering. The Knox County community has been very supportive, and they’ve been so blessed with smaller groups who’ve done food drives with a small list of things they need for their meal boxes. They sell tickets at the Knox County Fair and she explains how the community helps with that as well as other fundraisers run to help them as well as the Food for the hungry who helps support them as well as so many others.
She also thanks Habitat for Humanity and their help by giving them a permanent location and they’re so thankful for having a location and not having to go from place to place to try to keep working all year. She’s so thankful for the community support to keep this foundation working.
She talks about the goals for the community to end the season, they need volunteers for the ticket booth at the Knox County fairgrounds. If you see something for their foundation, put some nonperishable food in there like cans, or call their number.
They have food that needs to be delivered for them if you have time to help them and helping people who can’t go to get their turkey.
Click HERE to find out more about the Byron Saunders Foundation.
The Knox Community Jazz Orchestra is benefitting FFTH for the 4th year!
Eric Brown got to speak with the Knox Community Jazz Orchestra Director, Ted Buehrer! Ted talks about their partnership with Food For The Hungry and talks about the concert. It is more than just a concert so he also details the entire event and lets you know what to bring!
To learn more about the KCJO click HERE!
KCCC Launches T-Shirt Fundraiser for Food For the Hungry!
Knox County Career Center Teachers and Project Advisors Cassie Gray and Amy Rine joins student Carter Dickerson and to talk about their T-Shirt Fundraiser to support Food For The Hungry.
Click HERE for the full conversation!
Carter says that they do this event every year and Amy explains why the students decided to help Food for The Hungry. Amy says its really important to give back to the community and support those in need.
Cassie talks about their theme “Believe there is Good in the World (Be the Good) and why they decided to use that theme.
Carter says they have crewneck sweatshirts ($25) and t-shirts ($15) in olive green and cardinal red and sizes range from Extra Small to 4-XL.
Amy says shirts are on sale November 20th. The shirts will ship December 10th and should arrive by the Food For The Hungry broadcast on December 12th.
Cassie says the student officers have really managed the program. They met earlier this year, picked the theme and the high school staff helped select the colors. The students also sell the shirts during the lunch period.
The students will also be volunteering the KCCC Open House and in student competitions in December.
Click HERE to view their store!
Click HERE for the Food For The Hungry website!
Kristin Hankins tells us all about the Church at Chapel Hill Fall Fest!
WNZR talked with Kristin Hankins who is the 7th-12th Grade Supervisor at the Chapel Hill Christian Academy! She tells us all about their church and their fall fest that is coming up this Sunday. There will be music, games, activities and a bunch of candy!
It’s starting to feel like Fall!
Today, on The Morning Thing, we shared some amazing fall activity ideas for families!
It is finally starting to feel like Fall here in Mount Vernon and we think that is reason to celebrate! These are ways you can take advantage of the Fall weather before it turns to winter. They may be for kids but the whole family can find stuff in this list for the whole family!
Some of our favorites:
- Hayride
- S’mores
- Baking Pumpkin Seeds
- Donuts and Cider
To view the full list click HERE!
Rise and Shine 