LMU-DCOM Penny Wars to help feed hungry in East Tennessee

The Student Osteopathic Medical Association (SOMA) is a student organization at Lincoln Memorial University-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine (LMU-DCOM). For two years in a row SOMA has organized a friendly competition among the LMU-DCOM students called “Penny Wars.” Each physician who teaches at LMU-DCOM is part of a patient care interaction course in which students work one-on-one with the physicians. We placed a jar representing each of the doctors in front of our auditoriums, which serve as the main classrooms in the LMU-DCOM building. Students, faculty and staff all donated to the fundraiser. Change dropped into a physician’s jar equaled positive points and dollar bills dropped into a physician’s jar equaled negative points. The idea was to “vote” for the winner by putting as much change as possible into that person’s jar, while putting as many dollar bills as possible into the opponent’s jars. The fundraiser ran for two weeks, with students, faculty and staff all participating. This year alone, SOMA raised over $700 to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee.


The mission of LMU-DCOM is to serve the underserved people of this region, and the fundraiser for Second Harvest was another way that we as students could put this mission into action.

Thank you SOMA and LMU-DCOM for your continued support of Second Harvest Food Bank. Through your efforts thousands of individuals are now receiving meals. On behalf of each person benefiting from your hard work and kindness, we say THANK YOU!

Sherry Johnston supports Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee

Pound for Pound Challenge
Knoxville, TN's very own Sherry Johnston teams up with Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee to help the hungry in our area!  For every pound you pledge to lose between now and June 30th, The Biggest Loser will donate one pound of food to Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee!





Way to go, Sherry!  Keep up the good work!

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/.

Second Saturday for Second Harvest

Second Saturday for Second Harvest is a signature wine tasting event that occurs on (can you guess?) the second Saturday of each month and is hosted by Campbell Station Wine & Spirits (CSWS).  Gene and Pamela Treacy, co-owners of CSWS, say this event so far has raised enough money to provide over 3,000 meals to those in need in our area. 

The event is held at Granite & Marble Works showroom- located at 707 N. Campbell Station Road- right next door to CSWS.  On April 10th, 2010 from 2:30-5:00 p.m. CSWS will be serving samples of wine and broadening the wine experience of those who attend. 

Wines are hand selected for each event!  April's wine list will include:
Virgin Chardonnay
Dr Loosen Riesling
Incognito White Blend
Cuvee Stephi French Red Blend
Alba Liza Grenache Temprainillo
Earthquake Zinfandel
Petite Petite Sirah

You must be 21 years of age to participate in this event and you must have a written invitaiton from CSWS.  To obtain an invitation, please send an email to info@campbellstationwine.com or contact Pamela Treacy at 865-966-7122.  This event is free with donations going to Second Harvest Food Bank.

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!