Harvest for the Hungry.

Harvest for the Hungry is an Interdenominational Food Pantry located in Ironton, Ohio and sponsored by First Presbyterian, First United Methodist, Memorial United Methodist (Coal Grove), Quinn Chapel African, Methodist Episcopal, Resurrection Hope United Methodist, Saint Joseph Catholic, Saint Lawrence Catholic, and Saint Paul Lutheran Church. The food pantry has operated since 1992 from contributions and donations, helping families in need in Lawrence County, Ohio.

Ironton First United Methodist Church.

The original Methodist Church built at our present location in 1852 was called Spencer Chapel. It was replaced in 1893 with Spencer Church, the same building we occupy today. After a union of Wesley and Spencer Churches in 1913, we became known as the First Methodist Episcopal Church. A merger in 1939 of Methodist churches and Protestant churches nationally resulted in First Methodist Church. In 1968, a final merger nationally with Evangelical United Brethren church resulted in our present name - First United Methodist Church.

For more information on Ironton First United Methodist, you can visit the church website.

Lawrence County, Ohio.

Lawrence county is one of the 32 counties in Ohio that is recognized by the federal government as "Appalachian." According to the 2010 census, Lawrence County has a population of 62,450. The county seat is Ironton. Lawrence County is part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). As of February 28, 2013 the population was 363,000.

For more information on the City of Ironton, you can visit the city's website. For more information on Lawrence County, you can visit the Chamber of Commerce website.

Appalachia.

From the Appalachian Region Commission (www.ARC.gov) Website:
"The Appalachian Region, as defined in ARC's authorizing legislation, is a 205,000-square-mile region that follows the spine of the Appalachian Mountains  from southern New York to northern Mississippi. It includes all of West Virginia and parts of 12 other states: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Forty-two percent of the Region's population is rural, compared with 20 percent of the national population."

The Region includes 420 counties in 13 states. It extends more than 1,000 miles, from southern New York to northeastern Mississippi, and is home to more than 25 million people. Appalachian Ohio counties include Adams, Ashtabula, Athens, Belmont, Brown, Carroll, Clermont, Columbiana, Coshocton, Gallia, Guernsey, Harrison, Highland, Hocking, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Mahoning, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Pike, Ross, Scioto, Trumbull, Tuscarawas, Vinton, and Washington.