Sayre, PA – The Board of Directors of the Community Foundation for the Twin Tiers is pleased to announce the 2025 Knoxville Fund grant recipients: The Knoxville Food Pantry and CHOP Out Hunger. Both organizations play vital roles in supporting families and addressing food insecurity in and around the Knoxville Borough community. The Knoxville Fund, established in 2017, provides support for charitable, scientific, and educational purposes to nonprofit organizations that serve the citizens of Knoxville Borough in Tioga County, Pennsylvania.
The Knoxville Food Pantry is committed to providing nourishing food to neighbors throughout Tioga County. With this year’s Knoxville Fund award, the pantry will purchase food for its 2025 holiday distributions, helping ensure local families can gather around a full table this season. The pantry also shares SNAP application flyers from the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank to help neighbors access long-term assistance. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, Knoxville Borough is home to 617 residents across 242 households. While exact participation numbers cannot be tracked, the pantry continues to serve many local families who rely on this essential resource.
CHOP’s mission is to create a generation that doesn’t know hunger through innovative and collaborative outreach partnerships. Funding from the Knoxville Fund will support CHOP’s school-based nutrition programs for students in the Northern Tioga School District, which includes children living in Knoxville Borough.
CHOP Out Hunger provides two key food access programs that support students throughout the district. The Weekend Backpack Program discreetly sends home a bag filled with easy-to-prepare meals, fresh produce, and other healthy items that require minimal preparation for youth facing hunger when school is closed. CHOP also operates in-school pantries, open daily and stocked with similar items, giving students a welcoming place to access food for themselves or their families whenever needed. Designed to be self-serve, the pantries create a comfortable, judgment-free space where students can grab what they need for themselves or their families, while also building confidence and responsibility in the process.
Over the past year, 72 students participated in the backpack program, and 887 high school students had access to the school pantry. While Knoxville-specific data cannot be isolated, CHOP’s numbers, combined with Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap report showing 1,700 food-insecure children in Tioga County, clearly indicate that young people in Knoxville are among those in need.
The Knoxville Fund’s support for the Knoxville Food Pantry and CHOP helps ensure local families have access to essential nutrition and resources during difficult times.
For more information about the Knoxville Grant Award, please visit www.twintierscf.org or call (570) 888-4759.
About the Community Foundation for the Twin Tiers
Founded in 2003, the Community Foundation for the Twin Tiers serves five counties: Bradford, Potter, Sullivan, and Tioga Counties in Pennsylvania, and Tioga County in New York. The Foundation is committed to building philanthropic resources that sustain healthy and vital communities now and into the future. The Foundation manages more than 170 funds valued at nearly $17 million and has awarded over $3 million in grants and scholarships since its inception. For more information, contact Joselyn Allen-Elford at 570-888-4759, by email at jallenelford@twintierscf.org, or visit www.twintierscf.org.
Media Contact:
Joselyn W. B. Allen-Elford
Resource Development Associate
jallenelford@twintierscf.org
607-731-8514