Orion Neighborhood Television will host its 11th annual food drive and telethon to benefit the Oxford/Orion FISH Food Pantry, but, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be an all-virtual event this year.

The reformatted food drive – which has traditionally been called the 5 or 5 Food Drive – will begin the week of Feb. 1 at 8 a.m. and run through 9 p.m. Feb. 5 in a modified version.

Over the past 10 years, the ONTV food drives have collected more than 45,000 pounds of food during the live telethon.

“This year has been a real challenge,” says Executive Director Ian Locke. “Because of the pandemic we had to come up with a new format for the drive. We didn’t want to cancel it, so we decided to go virtual. Our goal is to raise $5,000 for FISH through corporate sponsorships and community donations. We are also asking for the community’s help to fill the ONTV van with non-perishable food and personal items.”

The ONTV production van will be parked at the studio, located at The Orion Center, 1349 Joslyn Rd., for in-person donations from 8 a.m. – 9 p.m. Feb. 1-5.

Monetary donations can be made through the GoFundMe account located on the ONTV website at orionONTV.org.

The televised food/fund drive will air for five full days and nights with live studio elements each evening from 7-9 p.m. The community can view the food drive on Comcast channel 10, AT&T U-Verse channel 99, ROKU Cablecast channel, through the ONTV Facebook page and at OrionONTV.org.

Oxford/Orion FISH provides emergency aid in the form of food and agency referrals to individuals in Oxford, Lake Orion, Addison and Oakland townships

Anyone who needs assistance with groceries can call the FISH office at 248-628-3933. – J.N.