Robert Bolen and Jim Zehner receive a check from Alex Klug. (Photo by Lauren "Chuck" Shows)
More food coming, as “Who’s Hungry?” gets grant
- Published: July 3, 2026
Local free-meal nonprofit “Who’s Hungry?” received a $2,500 grant from Hall Hunger Initiative on Wednesday, June 24, during the group’s biweekly community meal at MAZU restaurant.
Hall Hunger Initiative Development Director Alex Klug presented the funds to “Who’s Hungry?” co-founder Jim Zehner and longtime volunteer Robert Bolen as local residents — including one News reporter — dined on linguine with meat sauce, vegan pasta salad and rolls.
The grant will help repair electrical service in the garage of the home Zehner shared with “Who’s Hungry?” co-founder and his longtime partner, Carl Moore, who died unexpectedly in May. The nonprofit cooks meals in Zehner’s home — about 5,500 meals were served last year, according to Zehner — and stores food for the meals in refrigerators and freezers in the garage. Zehner said the appliances had previously been powered using extension cords before an electrical fault caused the garage to lose power and “Who’s Hungry?” to lose some stored food intended for regular diners. Zehner said local electrical outfit Regulator Watts quoted the cost of the repairs at nearly $4,000, but offered to complete the job for the $2,500 grant amount.
Bolen also recently raised more than $900 for “Who’s Hungry?” by creating a vegan “crunch wrap supreme” that was prepared and sold through MAZU.
Hall Hunger Initiative is a regional food-system advocacy nonprofit that works to address the root causes of hunger while supporting organizations that feed their communities. According to Klug, HHI is in the process of developing a local food aggregation program that would purchase food from Antioch College and other area farms, combine and store it centrally and redistribute it to participating restaurants, schools and other buyers.
The News will provide additional coverage on the program in a future issue.
“Who’s Hungry?” operates most Mondays and Wednesdays, from 3 p.m. until food runs out. All are welcome. To support “Who’s Hungry?” drop by during open hours or donate online at http://www.bit.ly/WhosHungryYS
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