Blankets of Hope Inc. (BOH) will present its sixth annual Chef Tim's "Take the Chill Off" chili sale on Saturday, Feb. 6, the day before the big football game. Proceeds will benefit BOH, a nonprofit organization that provides fleece blankets to shelters, veterans, children's homes, hospice patients, seniors and others. BOH also supplies single beds and bedding to children in need.

Berks County resident Marc Goldstein, BOH founder, explained that chili will be sold in a drive-through format from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Redner's Markets throughout Berks County, including the Redner's located in Douglassville.

The chili will be prepared in advance by executive chef Timothy Twiford, Redner's Markets director of food service. It will be frozen at the Redner's Wyomissing location.

"(The chili is) very hearty. There is a lot of meat and a lot of beans. It is very flavorful," said Goldstein. "It really is one of the best-tasting chilies. It's even better after it's been frozen."

Chili will be offered in four choices of sizes: including the standard 12-ounce foam bowl, which is not available for preorder; a 32-ounce quart container; a pan that feeds 10; and a pan that feeds 20.

Because of the pandemic, this year's chili sale has taken on a new format. "We never had to do drive-through before," said Goldstein. "Everything will be prepackaged. We are not dishing out chili at Redner's like we used to. This year, at the Redner's locations we will be in the parking lot or somewhere near the store outside. This is our first year of doing preorders."

He noted that several local restaurants will also offer chili that day as part of their menu.

Those who do not want to order chili may make a donation instead, and the money will be used to purchase trays of chili that will be given to two local veterans' organizations. Unsold chili will be given to a local church, which will distribute it to the homeless.

The idea to start BOH began in 2011 when Goldstein, who sells promotional products, decided to use his professional connections to help supply blankets to others. Through the nonprofit, Goldstein solicits financial donations from the public and from area businesses and uses the money to order blankets. Since BOH has no physical building or storage area, the blankets are shipped directly to the organization that needs them. In addition, BOH donates single beds and bedding to children in need through a partnership with Fecera's Furniture, which agreed to store and deliver the beds free of charge.

Goldstein reported that BOH has donated more than 59,000 blankets since 2011 and 276 beds since July of 2019.

For more details about the chili fundraiser, readers may visit http://www.facebook.com/BlanketsofHopeBerks and choose "Events." A list of locations for chili sales and an order form are provided on the event page. The deadline to order chili has been extended to Monday, Feb. 1.