BELPRE — The Roseland Coffee Bar is holding its annual Thanksgiving Food Drive through Nov. 16.

Customers can donate food items at the Barlow and Belpre locations any time this week and also be entered to win prizes, according to Collin Yost of the Roseland Coffee Bar.

Among the organizations around the Mid-Ohio Valley receiving donations from the food drive are the Latrobe Street Mission in Parkersburg and Belpre Area Ministries in Belpre.

The Roseland Coffee Bar locations are at 747 Warrior Drive, Vincent, across from Warren High School, and at 1818D Washington Blvd., in Belpre between the Unicorn Wine Guild and Wings Etc.

The coffee shop also is expanding into Marietta and will open in 2025 at the former Southeastern Ohio Counseling Center building on Seventh Street across from Marietta College.

Employees were taken to the grocery store to shop for the food drive, spending nearly $1,000. The company will also partner with the Jon Six Food Ministry on Nov 23 when the shops will be closed early and employees will prepare, cook and serve dinner at the Latrobe Street Mission.

“We believe this is critical for us to get involved. Donating food and raising donations is a very important step in helping the area, but it is also a bandaid on a very sensitive issue that needs long term solutions,” Yost said in an email. “It is important for young people to see and gain first-hand experience out in the real world and see what people are facing.”

In America, 47.4 million people face food insecurity and almost 15% of Washington County is food-insecure, according to Yost.

“We want the youth of our area to be exposed to real issues to learn about compassion, understanding, hard work, community and problem solving on how to make our community better,” he said. “We hope this story can be shared so we can gain even larger donations, but also to bring attention to people like Jon Six Food Ministry who is consistently doing great work in our community. This story would also greatly highlight places and people in need like Latrobe Street Mission who has been consistently maxed on people and desperately in need of volunteers and funding.”