In 1997, Paula Napier discovered that an elderly lady in the community was eating cat food when she ran out of money at the end of the month. Soon after, Paula started a food pantry in a little red building on Maynardville Hwy., and soon Kitty Lewis joined her.
At that time, they provided additional food for about 25 Union County residents. When Paula had to resign, Kitty took over the operation. The Food Pantry of Union County would continue to grow and soon moved to the Cedar Grove Community Center in 2004.
Food is provided twice a month unless Union County schools are closed for snow or ice. Before Covid, they served 250-300 families each time. Since Covid, those numbers have dropped to 150-200. But as groceries become more and more expensive, the client numbers have started to grow.
Most of the food is purchased from Second Harvest and the variety depends upon what Second Harvest has available at that time. There can be staples, canned goods, vegetables, fruit, beans, peanut butter, various meats, oatmeal, crackers, chips. Sometimes there is fresh food, sometimes not. Each household gets about 65 pounds of food at each visit.
The food begins its journey early in the morning at Second Harvest Food Bank in Maryville. The food pantry owns the truck, but volunteer Charlie Muncey makes the drive to load up and bring the food back to Maynardville. Charlie is a mechanic who works from home. In addition to the twice monthly Maryville drive, he volunteers his skills and time to keep the truck in good shape. He also pays half of the fuel cost.
Food is provided to any household in need. Once a month, however, additionally there is USDA food available to any household earning less than 185% of the poverty level. This means that a family of four earning less than $51,338 a year qualifies for USDA food in addition to Second Harvest food. Families can also automatically qualify for the USDA program, without sharing their income information, if they receive SNAP, Families First, LIHEAP, Supplemental Security, or live in Section 8 housing.
But even if a family does not meet USDA financial guidelines for Second Harvest USDA food, the food pantry has plenty of great food that they give out to anyone who needs it.
Scott Inklebarger at Food City is an active participant in helping our community. Walgreens in Maynardville also donates food. Food that is still good but nearing its’ ‘sell by’ date gets picked up by Kitty or another of the volunteers for distribution. The food pantry receives an in-kind grant from Union County which allows them to use the Cedar Grove Community building twice monthly for food distribution.
Kitty Lewis works distribution days, handles the paperwork, orders food from Second Harvest for the next distribution day and meets with other Food Bank volunteers. Her volunteer time runs around 30-40 hours/month. Tracy Maples does the bookkeeping and accepts monetary donations.
On distribution days, five to ten volunteers make up bags, set up for the clients and hand out food. It takes a village.
How can you help? Spread the word about the availability of food to anyone who might need it.
If you need additional food, stop by the food pantry at the Cedar Grove Community Center 553 Fall Creek Rd, corner of Hickory Valley from 2 to 5 p.m. on the second and fourth Mondays of the month.
Want to make an impact? If you have a little extra money at the end of the month, send a check to the food pantry. Send checks to Food Pantry of Union County c/o Tracy Maples 926 Beard Valley Rd Maynardville 37807. Donations are tax deductible.
Right now, it is crucial to find a couple of folks who are physically able to unload the heavy food from the truck from 9:30–11:00 on distribution days, the second and/or fourth Mondays. Could that be you? Volunteer to help a few hours!
Volunteers are welcome anytime they are available on the second and/or fourth Mondays between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. for set up and 2 to 5 p.m. for distribution. To volunteer, call Kitty Lewis at 865-992-4335.
Distribution is at the Cedar Grove Community Center 553 Fall Creek Rd, corner of Hickory Valley from 2:00 to 5:00 on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month.