MTVFD Still Serving Dinner After 30 Years

After 30 years, the Muskingum Township Volunteer Fire Department still hosts their annual chicken dinner for friends within the township.

The dinner is the largest fundraiser for the department and has raised up to $3,000 in the past, which helps the department buy what it needs to serve their district.

“We use it for all kinds of projects, whether it’s masks or tanks, SCBAs, EMS equipment,” said Benson. “We try to cover the full scale. Anything we can’t make off the levy this is a big community event.”

Chief Benson says for the department, raising money is just part of why they host the dinner.

“The biggest thing we like to do is show that we serve our community,” he said. “Civic duty is a hard thing to establish today. We have a lot of volunteers here that are helping and as you can see by all the chicken that’s going out of here, we have a lot of people in the community supporting us.”

Chief Benson says he knows the township appreciates what they do, but he thinks there might be another reason people come out every year–the food.

“I don’t know if it’s special, but it is somewhat secret,” he said. “There are three basic ingredients, there’s butter, margarine and vinegar and there are some other special spices. Each department has their own special. and I’m sure if you ask every other fire department, they’ll tell you theirs is the best, but they’re lying to you, ours is.”

Chief Benson says this year he hopes to serve about 800 people, allowing the department to raise between two and three-thousand dollars.

He says the community is supportive of their efforts and will often have additional donations on top of the $7 dinner ticket.