Northern Kentucky University’s food pantry, FUEL NKU, is partnering with the Care Closet to host their annual Friendsgiving. The event will take place on Nov. 24 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom. 

Students and community members are welcome to join in the festivities, which include enjoying a free dinner sponsored by Kroger, Chartwells and Busken Bakery. They are also encouraged to thrift the warm items provided by the Care Closet to bundle up for the holiday season and enjoy the festive atmosphere.

Peg Adams, director of University Connect and Persist (UCAP), FUEL NKU and the Care Closet, expressed her hopes for this year’s Friendsgiving.

“Friendsgiving is a meaningful NKU tradition that brings the entire campus community together to celebrate the season of gratitude with each other. ALL are welcome—students, faculty, staff, family and friends. We are fortunate to have such great partners in the community,” Adams said in a statement to The Northerner. 

“I had the pleasure of attending the NKU Fuel Food Pantry Friendsgiving [2024] event. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The food was delicious, and the atmosphere was warm and welcoming. One of the highlights for me was the live music; the performances were truly impressive and added a special touch to the evening,” Wright said.

Bliven goes on to speak about how FUEL’s partners for the event really help bring Friendsgiving to life, and expresses gratitude on behalf of the NKU community that the partnerships helped support.

“Chartwells and NKU dining provide the side items, as well as helping with the catering needs and everything like that. So they’re really the ground support for this event, which we cannot thank them enough. And Busken Bakery in Highland Heights reached out, and they’ve historically donated pumpkin pies for the event, which has been a huge blessing, as well,”  Bliven said.

Friendsgiving at NKU has grown exponentially, according to Bliven and Adams, and the added support has helped NKU FUEL keep up with the popular demand.

“We are very grateful and happy to welcome back NKU alumni who join our colleagues and volunteer by serving food, greeting students and sharing a meal,” Adams said.

“Especially now with us seeing more and more people, and also more and more demand, and increased demand, and how expensive everything is—that affects everybody differently. But it also affects food pantries like ours a lot, too. So being able to have partnerships where we can still host events while still not breaking the bank for us, so to speak, but still being able to provide that meal for people is really beneficial,” Bliven adds.

However, a meal is not all the Friendsgiving event will offer. Partnered with NKU’s Care Closet, there will be ample opportunity for attendees to thrift something warm for the colder months.

“We’ve been working in tandem on different events with the Care Closet; we’re really looking for ways to provide access to free food, hygiene products, and clothing with them. With it being colder, a lot of our international students, in particular, or maybe even people from warmer climates, don’t always have a coat or the proper attire for [winter]. So we found this event to be a really great way to distribute items to people,” Bliven said.

“As in past years, the Care Closet at NKU will be present and offer an array of coats and other cold-weather items for students. It’s so nice to see everyone come together for this special event, and we look forward to celebrating with everyone again this year,” Adams said.

Friendsgiving at NKU aims to cater to all by providing clothing items in a way that’s not only accessible for everyone but also enjoyable.

“Historically, and I’m sure this year will be the same, the event starts at five, and there’s a line ready at five for people to grab to see what we have. We all enjoy thrifting and getting to find items secondhand that are new to us, and so the care closet at NKU has been a really great partner with us to be able to provide those items,” Bliven said.

The Care Closet offers unique and ‘must-have‘ items to make the Friendsgiving thrifting experience even more exciting for attendees, hoping many will delight in their festive finds, adding increased energy to the event.

“I appreciated the thoughtful giveaways, including the cozy bubble vest from the Care Closet, and items from the resource tables such as Bath & Body Works products and socks. These generous offerings made the event even more memorable,” Wright said.

Bliven goes on to add about the joys of watching the attendees enjoy the partnership between FUEL and the Care Closet.

“[Care Closet] really has become almost like a signature partner, because, yes, people like a meal, but people also enjoy staying warm during the colder months, and it’s fun to see students coming together and seeing them say ‘Hey, look what I found!’ And getting to show off maybe their new coat, or if they find a hat, or gloves, or something. I know ever since I’ve been here, we’ve been partnering with [Care Closet],” Bliven said.

Along with the sit-down meal and thrifting opportunities, attendees have the chance to take home their own Thanksgiving meal kits. These items, donated to FUEL, could even come from some of the attendees themselves, highlighting the community-focused nature of the event.

“Something else we do at the event, and are planning to continue, is providing everything to make a Thanksgiving meal. We don’t provide the main protein, but we do provide all the side items, non-perishables in a to-go bag, so attendees are able to take those,” Bliven said.

He went on to say, “Last year, we made 50 bags and discharged them to people at the event. I think that that’s the most important part; what I’ve continued to try to stress is community building, and this event’s a great way to do that.”

Wright concluded her statement by speaking about her personal donations to FUEL for the Thanksgiving meal kits.

 “I felt honored to contribute to the meal baskets provided for attendees to take home. It was deeply rewarding to know that these baskets supported a meaningful Thanksgiving celebration with loved ones and friends.” 

Bliven urged students and community members alike to spread the word about the event so that all NKU community members have a way to celebrate the upcoming holiday season.

“Invite your friends,” Bliven said. “The event is open to the public, we’re really focused on our NKU community. I think that’s the most helpful to us, getting the word out there, especially if you know somebody maybe doesn’t have a home to go to, or doesn’t feel safe going home for Thanksgiving, they can come out and spend time with loved ones, or, you know, make new friends as well.”