Knit for Food Knit-a-thon Roundup

On Sunday, April 11, 2021, I participated in the Knit for Food Knit-a-thon. Here are the results!

This 12-hour knit-a-thon (knitting marathon) was designed to raise funds for and awareness of food insecurity in the United States. Knitters, crocheters, spinners and weavers joined together to raise funds for four deserving organizations. The overall goal was $20,000.

The Knit-a-thon raised over $270,000! That comes out to more than $67,000 per charity! Of the funds raised, contributions from my personal page totaled $510, just barely beating my goal of $500! I am so grateful to all who donated. We did it! Thank you!

These funds went to four different organizations that work to end hunger. In exchange, fundraisers committed to 12 hours of knitting in an all-day online event! The event was better than I anticipated. I want to share all of the fabulous sessions with you so that you’ll be excited to join us next time! (And yes, I’m pretty sure there will be a next time based on the knit-a-thon’s fantastic results!)

Knit-a-Thon Presenters

The Knit for Food Knit-a-thon ran from 10:00AM until 10:00PM. Laura Nelkin, creator of the Knit for Food Knit-a-thon, gave opening remarks and emceed the event. Broken into several Zoom sessions throughout the day, it was almost like attending a conference!

Knitting Techniques

Several of the sessions could be considered mini-lessons on their own! These were some of the most enjoyable sessions and brought levity and excitement to a day focused on such a serious issue.

Patty Lyons spent 30 minutes answering knitting questions from the audience. She also contributed $10 for each question answered! The result was a wonderful, frenetic session that left us laughing and wanting more. When the tally was done, she donated $240.

Laura Nelkin presented basic information on using beads in knitting. Knitters who would like to know more can find her classes on Craftsy: Knitting with Beads and Knitting with Beads Made Easy.

Bristol Ivy led a mini course on brioche knitting called Approachable Brioche-Able. Her understanding of brioche and ability to clearly explain it was impressive!

Knitting

Carson Demers presented on Knitting Ergonomics. While this was certainly a beneficial presentation for a knitathon, I recommend his classes for anyone who wishes to knit for the rest of their lives.

Knitflix Knitathon organizers discussed their experiences with their own knitting marathon, which raised over $20,000 for four social justice organizations.

Mara Smith got us out of our chairs and encouraged us to stop knitting! She is a certified personal trainer that specializes in Stretches for Stitchers. She offers weekly classes.

Suzan Colón also encouraged a stitch break and led us in a meditation… or rather, MedKNITation, her method of meditation through knitting and crochet.

Port Fiber supplied a Crafternoon Playlist. Virtual Sunday Crafternoon Zoom sessions are ongoing.

Ingrid Gomez, A Queens Knitter who works for Change, spoke about the vision she has for her community. One of her focus areas is eliminating food insecurity.

All About Sheep

Cecilia Tkaczyk (Cece’s Wool) shared anecdotes about farm life with her flock of Jacob sheep. She has a few lambs if you’re looking!

New York sheep farmer Tom DellaRocco also spoke about his experiences raising and shearing sheep.

Gale Zucker of She Shoots Sheep Shots delighted us with a wooly slideshow. She is a professional photographer whose subjects include both sheep and people in knitwear. She shared excellent tips for photographing your own work, plus interesting anecdotes about her time herding and photographing sheep.

Knitting Lounges

The day was peppered with knitting lounges, which were Zoom breakout rooms that gave us all the opportunity to meet each other and discuss various topics, like what we had done to address hunger in our local communities and, of course, what we were knitting! While the Zoom meeting had over 350 attendees at most times, the knitting lounges were intimate; fewer than a dozen knitters were in a lounge.

Beneficiaries

The idea for the Knit for Food Knitathon came from an interaction Laura Nelkin had with Natasha Thompson, who works for The Food Bank of the Southern Tier. (For those of us not from New York, the Southern Tier generally refers to the center of the area that borders Pennsylvania.) Natasha spoke at length about the partnerships that enable local food banks to operate.

The direct recipients of the funds of the Knit for Food Knitathon were four organizations that address hunger and food insecurity. Each also had a presenter scheduled for the event.

• Feeding America: By partnering with manufacturers, distributors, retailers, food service companies, and farmers, Feeding America rescues food before it goes to waste and redirects it where it is needed most. Their impact is over 6 billion meals and counting! Hanna Swihart was scheduled to speak, but was unable to attend.
• World Central Kitchen: WCK was established in 2010 to provide food resilience in the face of disaster. They partner with local groups to reduce the incidence of food borne illness in communities, largely through the conversion of clean cookstoves and installation of water lines. They also provide training on safe food handling. The presenter WCK was Xandy McKinley.
• No Kid Hungry: No Kid Hungry works with educators and lawmakers to ensure children have access to school meals. They’ve secured access for millions of meals (breakfast, lunch, after-school meals, and summer meals) and maintain a meal finder to help families find food distribution sites. Carla Warner addressed the significant impact COVID-19 has had on hunger and food insecurity in the United States.
• Meals on Wheels America: Meals on Wheels meets the nutritional needs of seniors with hand-delivered meals. These also help alleviate feelings of isolation and, when needed, can help address home safety hazards. Jennifer Pelligrini spoke about the non-food needs met by Meals on Wheels, including social interaction and pet care.

More Information

The Knit for Food Knitathon was held on Sunday, April 11, 2021.

Laura Nelkin of Nelkin Designs created this event.

This event was livestreamed on YouTube. At the time of the event, Laura noted that she wasn’t certain whether or not the YouTube stream would be available once it concluded. I will keep this page updated as I learn more. Look for the stream here.