MARYVILLE, Tenn. — Many families across East Tennessee may not know where their next meals will come from. But for 508 families who attended a distribution event at Second Harvest Food Bank, they may not need to worry.
Second Harvest said they gave away 127,626 pounds of food during the event. They said they gave away items like canned salmon, chicken chili, soups, peanut butter, canned vegetables, spaghetti sauce, pasta and juice.
Usually, the food bank distributes food to local pantries which then hand it directly to people facing food insecurity. But on Thursday, people at risk of going hungry had a chance to stop by the Second Harvest warehouse directly and get some food.
Volunteers passed out food as they drove up to the warehouse, filling cars with boxes and bags of nutritious food. It was open to the public and anyone could stop by, regardless of where they lived.
"A lot of folks that are coming here today might have situations where gas prices are too high or they are out of a job for whatever reason," said Rachael Ellis, the director of development at the food bank. "They just might be in a hard time and need a little support, so they are cheering and honking and just giving us lots of love."
Organizers said Second Harvest usually gives out over 21 million pounds of food per year across 18 East Tennessee counties.