Tragedy Strikes Local Food Bank

On Monday, February 28th, the rains fell heavy in East Tennessee and localized flooding began to occur.  One of the many businesses destroyed in Knoxville was Second Harvest Food Bank.


Here are few pictures taken by one of the Second Harvest employees.  This is our warehouse parking lot and those are employee cars completely submerged in water. 

In the back you can see our "reefer trailer", used to store any cold food items we can not fit into our cooler/freezer on a given day.  All the vehicles and the trailer are completely destroyed.

Over three feet of water seeped into our warehouse, destroying thousands of pounds of food and valuable equipment, including delivery trucks, fork lifts and offices. 

What happens when the organization that comes to the aid of those in need during disasters BECOMES the one in need?

Second Harvest employees volunteer at local pantry

As a part of Hunger Action Month, Second Harvest employees decided to volunteer a few hours on Tuesday at a local food pantry.  The Baptist Center at Western Heights is one of our busiest pantries.  Every Tuesday and Thursday they open their doors to hundreds of families in need.  The Baptist Center has taken a new approach to the food pantry, they allow clients a "supermarket" experience when picking up food.  Instead of being handed a box of already sorted and chosen food items, families are allowed to pick from a selection of foods.  For instance, individuals are given the option between sliced white bread, wheat rolls or pita pockets, boxes of macaroni and cheese, plain noodles or rice, strawberries or grapes.  As families walk through the pantry, they can pick and choose depending on what they want and what their families will eat. 

Each week Second Harvest is visited by hundreds of pantries.  They come to the warehouse to pick up food that they turn around and distribute to individuals in need.  Although we often have the opportunity to visit with pantry workers and volunteers, we rarely have the chance to be there when the food goes out to families.  Being there on the front line of the pantry open hours gave us an opportunity to see how our work at the warehouse actually affects those who receive our food.  On Tuesday the Baptist Center served approximately 400 families, all within 3 hours.  We met young and old, of all backgrounds, each there for various reasons.  We greeted children and babies, mothers and sisters, fathers and grandfathers. 

The Baptist Center is run by a group of organized, caring, hardworking individuals.  People who give up their time to make others' lives better.  Open now for over 15 years, the Baptist Center has their schedule and routine down to an art.  Like many pantries in our area, the Baptist Center relies on volunteers to keep their operation running smoothly.  The employees at Second Harvest enjoyed the opportunity to be some of the many volunteers that helped Tuesday's pantry go so well.  It was a great experience for us to see our agency in action and witness the inter workings of the pantry.  It was also a great reminder to each of us that once the food leaves our warehouse, it goes almost directly into the mouths of our neighbors in need. 

Second Harvest plans to send employees out to pantries to volunteer on a regular basis.  If you would be interested in volunteers at our warehouse, at a local pantry, or with the Second Harvest employees, please contact John Bell at john@secondharvestknox.org .

30 Ways in 30 Days

September is our designated "Hunger Action Month", where the goal of food banks across the nation is to increase awareness of hunger in our communities!  We are asking Americans to take action and fight domestic hunger.  The need in our community, and surrounding communities is tremendous, but so is the impact you can make on others lives. 

Below is the link to our Hunger Action Month calendar where each day lists a different way you can help- 30 Ways in 30 Days!
Click on each date to get more details about how you can help! 

http://www.secondharvestknox.com/newsEvents/hunger_action_month.php

Whether it's by advocating and raising awareness, making donations, or giving of your time and energy, find the way that's right for you to make a difference during Hunger Action Month!

Feed Knoxville 2010- Hosted by TCAK

What IF we could make a difference?
What IF we could beat the odds?
What IF we come together working for one goal?
What IF we really CHANGE this city?

These are the questions asked by The Church at Knoxville (TCAK), hosts of Feed Knoxville! 

Feed Knoxville 2010 is a one day food drive event that will be held on Saturday, August 28th at the World's Fair Park's Performance Lawn in Downtown Knoxville!  The hope is that our city can come together, as one, to collect 100,000 items of food to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee. 

For every food item you bring to Feed Knoxville, you will receive one ticket that can be placed in a drawing for some great giveaways!

This event will have activities for the whole family, including inflatables, live music, FREE food, cotton candy, and popcorn.  PLUS....the event is completely FREE for the whole family. 

For more information about Feed Knoxville 2010 event, drop off locations, entertainment, and the unbelievable GIVEAWAYS, please visit:
http://www.feedknoxville.com/

For more information about The Church at Knoxville (TCAK) please visit:
http://www.thechurchatknoxville.com/

Hunger In America 2010

This time last year, Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee employees and dedicated volunteers took to the streets to take part in the 2009-2010 Hunger Study.  During this time we interviewed hundreds of people in many food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters.  While we were conducting our study in East Tennessee, other food banks across the nation were doing the exact same thing.  Below is a video put together by Feeding America, our national affiliate, with some of the statistics we learned during this study.  Although the statistics below are nationwide, Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee received our own statistics with data directly reflecting hunger in East Tennessee. 

We are a funny little food bank....

Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee is a small food bank, compared to other affiliates in the United States.  If you visit our warehouse or office, you might hear us say things like "we wear many hats" or "we are a funny little food bank".  Well, we do....and we are!

With only 28 full-time employees and 3 part-time employees, we all have to be prepared to pitch in and help out with other projects.  It's something we have learned to do well and it often keeps us connected to what's going on with other departments. 

One thing that we depend on, day in and day out is the help of our volunteers.  With so few employees, we have learned that our jobs are nearly impossible without volunteers.  Last year alone, we received over 20,450 hours of service from volunteers!  THAT IS AMAZING!!!

Together with our volunteers, this "funny little food bank" provided over 9.7 million meals last year to those in need in our area, all coming out of our little 21,000 square foot warehouse.  This "funny little food bank" covers over 7,743 square miles and 18 counties in only 14 trucks.  We are really proud of our numbers, because they go above and beyond what most would expect from our size of warehouse and employees.  Not only are we proud, but we love what we are doing.....and we think that shows!

Thank you...as always...to our amazing volunteers for sharing in our passion AND sweat to help feed hungry individuals in East Tennessee!  Without you, we could not do what we do!

If you are interested in volunteering at Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee please visit our website and http://www.secondharvestknox.org/.

Mobile Pantries.....getting food to rural areas!

The following was a letter written by Michael Heydasch, a volunteer for his church, Valley View United Methodist. This letter was written to his friends and the congregation of his church about the Mobile Pantry program offered by Second Harvest.

Several of you mentioned your interest in the Mobile Pantry program, so I'm taking this opportunity to send you information in the hope that perhaps similar programs might be started in your area.

If I have my facts straight, Second Harvest serves 18 counties in the East Tennessee area. They have numerous programs, but one of their most popular is the Mobile Pantry program. The need is great; in some counties, as many as 1 in 3 children are surviving on as little as 1 meal per day. Many adults are having to make choices between groceries and paying utility bills.

The Mobile Pantry program is an effective way to distribute food to rural areas. They deliver (drop off, actually) a tractor-trailer of food to a church on a Thursday or Friday; the food is sorted prior to Saturday; the food is handed out by volunteers to those in need on Saturday; the Second Harvest driver returns on Monday to pick up the trailer. A full-load of food (as of this writing) is $800, and the total load can be between 12,000-22,000 pounds of food/beverages.

Zane Graves is the Director of Operations at Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee (our local affiliate for Feeding America). Zane is a great guy, friendly and helpful. He has experienced so much demand for the Mobile Pantry program that he frequently has to schedule in to the next calendar year. You may still find availability for 2010, but don't be surprised if the dates are at the begining of the month, or on a Thursday instead of Friday. (We find that the best dates are toward the end of the month, when the checks that people receive ar the begining of the month are exhausted). Zane can be reached at 865-521-0000 (M-Th 9-4:30, F 9-2).

The following pictures were taken at the Valley View UMC Mobile Pantry:

Thank you Michael for your continued efforts to spread the word about Second Harvest and help those in need in your community.  If you would like more information on Mobile Pantries or any of our other feeding programs, please contact us at Second Harvest 865-521-0000 or visit our website http://www.secondharvestknox.org/

Pound for Pound Challenge

NBC's The Biggest Loser has partnered with Feeding America (our national affiliate), General Mills, Subway, and 24 Hours Fitness to bring the Pound for Pound Challenge!

You may be thinking..."I keep hearing about this Pound for Pound Challenge, but I don't know what it's REALLY about." Well, here is your chance to find out.....

For every pound that you pledge to lose through June 30, 2010, The Biggest Loser will donate 14 cents to Feeding America- enough to deliver one pound of groceries to a local food bank. All you have to do is go online to http://www.pfpchallenge.com/ and click on Pledge Now!

You will be asked to fill out 5 questions (pretty easy, huh?) to complete your registration. Once this is complete, your pledge will be added to the tally of your local food bank. How does that work? One of the question you fill out is your zip code. This automatically designates the poundage to the food bank that services your area.

As of right now, Tennessee is ranked 15th in this challenge with a total of 118, 468 pounds pledged to be lost by its 3,744 team members! Way to go Tennessee! Think about how much healthier we will be once these pounds have been shed. And think about all the meals you are helping to provide to those in need in your state. But, it's not over yet and they don't call us The Volunteer State for nothing. If you haven't pledged to lose some weight, please do. And invite your friends and family to do the same! Together we can attack the issue of hunger in our community and help provide ourselves with a brighter future!

Recent stats for Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee:

We are currently ranked 62nd among overall cities in the US and 2nd in the state of Tennessee, behind Nashville; for team members joined and pounds pledged.

25,793 pounds pledged

803 team members

Let's go East Tennessee......show your support and pledge your pounds today! Let's lose nationally and feed locally!

Our History- The quick version

Did you know....

Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee was started (incorporated) in 1982 by a group of dedicated and concerned community volunteers who had read about a "new" concept called food banking. These individuals felt there was a great need here in Knoxville, Tennessee. Second Harvest was originally called SHARE: Southern Appalachian Food Bank.

During the first year of operation, Second Harvest distributed 220,000 pounds of donated food to 43 qualified agencies. Currently we serve over 514 partner agencies that include food pantries, soup kitchens, senior centers, group homes, youth organizations, shelters, and rehabilitation centers....to name a few!

Second Harvest moved to its current location in 1993. This building was originally built in 1960 and has been added onto and renovated several times since. Some Knoxvillians may recall that the Second Harvest building was originally the Rankins Signs building, then later utilized by the Knoxville Seed Company.

Currently, Second Harvest operates 6 different feeding programs out of our location. Each one designed to provide much needed food to individuals throughout our 18 county service area. We house 14 trucks, 28 full-time and 3 part-time employees, all within a 21,000 square ft warehouse (including 2,100 square ft freezer/cooler).

Over the years many things have changed for Second Harvest. From our first year of distributing 220,000 pounds to approximately 13 million pounds this past year. Our location may have changed (many years ago), our staff may have some new faces, and we may be branching out farther then ever before. But, one thing that has never changed.....the support we receive from our community! The never-ending support that Second Harvest receives, both now and then, from loyal, local businesses to concerned citizens is what keeps us going! We could not do it without the help of our community.....so thank you!