WYFF, Hearst’s NBC affiliate in Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson-Asheville, N.C., is continuing to celebrate its 70^th anniversary by giving back to the community with a “Year 4 Giving: Feed It Forward” initiative focused on food insecurity.

In the second of four campaigns, WYFF held a fundraiser to benefit the Spartanburg Soup Kitchen on Wednesday, May 24.

In April, WYFF’s “Year 4 Giving: Feed it Forward” kicked off with a virtual telethon benefitting MANNA Food Bank in Asheville.

That effort raised enough money for the organization to deliver an estimated 42,000 meals to local families.

In the second campaign, on May 24, the station reported live from the Spartanburg Soup Kitchen throughout the day to raise money for the organization that feeds more than 2,000 families in Spartanburg County every week.

This event was also to honor the memory of WYFF News 4’s Mike McCormick and Aaron Smeltzer, two journalists who died tragically five years ago this month when a tree feel on their SUV while they were covering a storm.

McCormick and Smeltzer covered many stories at the Spartanburg Soup Kitchen and were well-loved by the staff and patrons there.

“Mike and Aaron were part of our family, and we still miss them tremendously,” says John Humphries, WYFF’s general manager. “We hold them in our hearts each day and hope to honor their memory by giving back to a community they served and loved.”

Checks are still coming to the Spartanburg Soup Kitchen daily, but to date, more than $20,000 and 4,000 pounds of food have been donated.

This clip focuses on the contributions Aaron Smeltzer and Mike McCormick made to the Spartanburg Soup Kitchen.

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