Muse Knoxville has received a $25,000 donation from Food City to create a miniature Food City exhibit, opening later this year. The announcement came from Allison Comer, executive director of Muse Knoxville.

“This interactive exhibit will be part of our Live Smart, Stay Well area, one of the museum’s most popular spaces,” she said. “It’s designed to look like a real grocery store, allowing children to role-play as shoppers, cashiers and stock clerks while learning essential life skills like decision-making, teamwork and financial literacy.

“Through hands-on play, kids will also build early math skills and gain a better understanding of nutrition.”

Comer thanked Betsi James and the entire Food City team “for their incredible generosity and commitment to fostering learning through play. This partnership represents the power of community collaboration and its impact on the next generation of learners.”

Betsi James is special events manager for the Knoxville and Chattanooga divisions of Food City. Other executives who visited Muse Knoxville were Donny Rector, human resources specialist; and Steven Jones, district manager.

More from Food City

Save the Date: The Irwin/ Food City Bass Tournament will be Saturday, April 26, 2025. Big prizes. Proceeds benefit the Boys and Girls Club of the Tennessee Valley. Info:

Miss Food City: Competition will be Saturday, March 8, 2025, at 7 p.m. at The McClothlin Center for the Arts at Emory & Henry University, Emory, Virginia. Admission proceeds will benefit survivors of Hurricane Helene. The pageant entry fee is $110. Applications are now available on-line at https://www.foodcity.com/MissFoodCity. Deadline for entry is 11:59 p.m. EST on Thursday, February 20, 2025. Entrants will be limited to the first 25 applications received. Miss Food City will receive $5,000 cash, $1,200 scholarship from Sodalis and other prizes.

Project Help: Help Knoxville families stay safe and warm. Donate to Project Help at any Food City or Home Federal Bank through February 4, 2025. A CAC-administered nonprofit, Project Help provides emergency energy assistance for eligible applicants in the KUB service area during the heating season. Eligible for help are the elderly, those experiencing job loss, injury or disability. Apply for assistance at CAC, 865-637-6700, or the Low Income Energy Assistance Program.

Food City provided quotes and information for this report.