Knit for Food had its sixth annual ‘Knit-a-Thon’ fundraiser last Saturday, April 11. The 12-hour knitting marathon fundraiser raised over $550 thousand nationally, a $20 thousand increase from its 2025 outing. Over the past five years, the fundraiser amassed $1.7 million, and including this year, its total will eclipse $2.2 million.
Knit for Food founder Laura Nelkin established the event in 2021 with inspiration from her daughter’s participation at their local food back during the summer of 2020. She designs knitwear The event raises money for Feeding America, World Central Kitchen, No Kid Hungry, and Meals on Wheels.
“When my daughter’s position completed and she went back to school, I realized I really wanted to do something more for my community and for the country in general,” Nelkin said. “I had no idea how many of my neighbors were facing food insecurity, so I came up with the Knit-a-Thon to raise funds.”
Knit for Food has over 115 public meetups each year for the Knit-a-Thon, and a Zoom for participants and teams who raise over $100. On the Zoom, representatives from each of the four charities that receive Knit for Food’s donations gave presentations that covered hunger statistics and their methods for combatting hunger.
“All of the funds we raise are equally donated between the four organizations, we act as a sort of pass-through entity,” Nelkin said. “Knit for Food doesn’t have any overhead.”
While the Knit-a-Thon has been running for six years and counting, Lakeview’s Knittin' Gang has been at it for 20 years. This is The Gang’s second year participating in the Knit-a-Thon. In 2025, they raised over $2800. This year, they raised over $1500, but donations are still open as of this week.
Officially calling themselves ‘The Knittin’ Gang…We Crochet 2,’ the group was accidentally named, and they have run with it ever since.
“One of our members’ husbands, I forget who, called us ‘the gang’ because we’d shop for yarn as a group, and that’s how we got the name,” member Marlene Tapley said. “It’s just stuck ever since.”
Tapley is a trustee at the Lakeview Public Library and a founding Knittin’ Gang member. She runs the knitting class at the library on Tuesdays from 6-8 p.m., where the Gang meets to work on their knitting and crocheting.
“Sometimes, we don’t even get any knitting done,” Tapley joked. “Our group is really about camaraderie, sometimes we meet just to talk and enjoy each other’s company.”
Karen Russer, another member, said the first step to being a member of the Gang is knowing the difference between knitting and crocheting. “The difference is all in the ‘T,’” she said. “You use two needles to knit; the word knitting has two Ts. You use one hook when you crochet; the word crocheting has only one T.”
Russer has been a member since last year and found out about the weekly knitting classes firsthand from a member. “I got jumped into the gang last year,” she joked. “I joined because I worked with another member, and she told me to come join.”
“My work schedule was changing, and I was available to do this, so that was the end of that,” Russer said.
The group is open to all ages and skill levels. “We have kids who come and learn to knit and crochet too, and we have members who are up to 80 years old,” Tapley said. “Everyone is at different levels; we have people who have been knitting for decades and people who are just learning how.”
