Second Harvest Meets Community Needs
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Second Harvest Meets Community Needs
By Shane Gilreath
Photos by Chuck Mullett
Scott County Mayor Jerried Jeffers was on hand as community leaders gathered to support Second Harvest of East Tennessee. The organization tackles hunger across 18 East Tennessee Counties.
The sight of people waiting in line at Bethlehem Baptist Church has become commonplace across Scott County. Those lines signal both significant need, as well as the hearts to meet the necessities of neighbors. A recent poll from East Tennessee State University indicated one in four respondents had gone hungry in the last year. Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee seeks to combat that issue in 18 counties across the region, where over 200,000 residents are at risk of hunger. The impressiveness of that altruism stands as a testament to both Second Harvest and the magnanimous community leaders who support the organization’s mission, through both monetary donations and volunteerism. Last week, those efforts focused strictly on the needs of seniors, who, among other essentials, receive a monthly delivery of dry goods to supplement their diets and improve their nutritional intake. To meet those needs, a variety of organizations partner with Second Harvest, among them Gerry McDonald Mission House, Pinnacle Resource Center, and Compassionate Ministries, who help the organization deliver senior outreach boxes.
“If someone is asking for food, there is a true need,” said Kristi Rule, the organization’s Director of Development. “We will not deny food,” she said of the organization’s mission, which currently serves hundreds of senior citizens across Scott County.
Rule told SCN that Second Harvest has seen an increase in need. Currently, the poverty rate among Tennessee seniors hovers around ten percent, although among the lowest demographics struggling with day-to-day impoverishment. In a 2023 report from United Health Foundation, which examined the health and well-being of adults across America, Tennessee ranked 42nd overall. As the senior demographic expands, however, by 2030, according to the Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability, 25% of the state’s entire population will be 60 years or older. With that expansion, the need is likely to also grow.
Those interested in volunteering with Second Harvest or the Scott County programs can visit secondharvestetn.org to sign up. Readers who wish to donate can do so via the website or by mail at Second Harvest of Food Bank of East Tennessee, 136 Harvest Lane, Maryville TN 37801.
