Chattanooga Area Food Bank

Incoming Students Serve at Food Bank

admin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:17:24 +0000

Source: http://www.covenant.edu/news/01.26.12

At the start of this semester, incoming Covenant students and four student leaders served at the Chattanooga Area Food Bank, cleaning storage facilities and organizing food and household products to be delivered to underprivileged children and sold at the food bank’s discount warehouse.

This service project was part of Covenant’s spring orientation, in which Covenant students and staff work to ease each incoming student’s transition, help them define their educational purpose, and provide an introduction to the opportunities and expectations of Covenant.

“It was a great time,” says Timothy Goldsmith ’12, an orientation leader. “It was a small group so we had really good conversations and got to know each other better in the process. Our group went through almost the entire sorting room’s worth of boxes.”

“I loved working at the food bank,” says Hannah Stevens ’14, who transferred to Covenant this spring. “I got to see and be a part of something I had never thought about or realized existed. I think it fit into orientation well because it gave us something to do that wasn’t about us, but about helping others. Also, it helped me to not focus on leaving home and instead made me even more thankful for the chance to get a Christian education.”

Kroger Candle Fruit Pectin – FREE – No Limit!

admin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:32:39 +0000

We have about 380 cases of Kroger canning jell. 24 to a case/1.75 oz.

At this time we are offering this to agencies at no charge. It is currently on the sales floor and there is no limit to the amount you can take at one time.

Meat boxes back to regular price

admin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:30:38 +0000

Effective 2/2/12, the ten pound meat boxes will go back to regular price @ $2.16 per 10 lb box.

Grant Provides Weekend Food To Kids in Bradley Cty.

admin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:11:17 +0000

Source: Cleveland Daily Banner

It is hard to believe, but there are children in Bradley County who depend on school breakfasts and lunches for the majority, if not all, of their meals. On the weekends, these meals are not available, and many children go hungry until Monday mornings.

Reba Terry, executive director of the Caring Place, deals with families seeking food assistance every day.She said knowing there are children who are not receiving adequate nutritious meals breaks her heart.Now, she and others with the Caring Place, through a United Way of Bradley County grant provided through the Bradley Memorial Health Endowment Fund, are doing what they can to help these children have food throughout the weekend.

They are providing food through a “Sack Pack” program.

“I learned about the Sack Pack program from the Chattanooga Food Bank, where we purchase most of the food that we distribute, and loved it from the very beginning,” Terry said.

“I thought that this is just the coolest thing and I hoped that one day we could do that.”

Terry said she and a couple of Caring Place Board members began studying the program and collecting data they could use to seek a grant to implement a similar program. She made a proposal to the United Way’s Community Investment Team, which is the group that has approved BMHEF grants the past four years.

“We met with (the Bradley County Schools’) June McDonald to determine what the need was in our county,” Terry said.

“In developing a new program we chose Bradley County Schools because two city schools are already participating in a Sack Pack program.”

Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church is working with a Sack Pack program with the Cleveland City School system.

“We identified the schools by the percentage of students on the free and reduced lunches,” Terry explained.

Those schools, identified last March, were Valley View Elementary School, Black Fox Elementary School, and Blue Springs Elementary School.

However, when Blue Springs Elementary School was destroyed by the April 27 tornadoes, Waterville Community Elementary School was chosen as the third school in the program.

The next step was determining how many sacks the Caring Place could put together for children based on the amount of the grant, should it be approved. They settled on 200 sacks.

The United Way’s Community Investment Team approved the grant for 2012, and it began to be implemented this weekend.

Each sack is placed in the backpack of a student who has been identified at-risk of not having food for the weekend.

“We don’t decide who the students are,” said Terry. “That is done by the counselors, and the teachers, the principals at these schools who can identify a child who is at risk of hunger.”

She added these children do not have to be on the free and reduced lunch program. Parents whose children have been earmarked to receive a sack pack have also received a letter about the program, and can opt-out if they wish.

The packs will be placed in their backpacks while they are on recess or at lunch, Terry explained so it will be done discretely.

Gwen Evans has been hired as the coordinator of the program. She will be writing the orders each week to get the food to the Caring Place so volunteers can package the sacks to be delivered to the three schools either on Thursdays or early Friday. The sacks can then be put in the backpacks of students on Friday afternoons.

The packs will contain at least two entrees, such as Beanee Weenees, chili with beans, or some similar item with meat included. They will all be pop-top items, easy to eat, and all nutritious,” Terry said.

She added, “They will also receive two containers of shelf-life milk, two containers of 100 percent juice, a can of fruit, two cans of vegetables, a granola bar, and other nutritious items … between 10 and 15 items which will vary according to what we get from the food bank.”

Terry explained on weeks where the children are on spring break, they will receive two sacks in the backpacks. The program does not operate during the summer break, so Terry will suggest that those on the program acquaint themselves with summer feeding programs in the area and take advantage of these special programs.

McDonald, who serves as assistant with the Coordinated Schools Health program through the Bradley County Schools, said she is excited about the program.

“We all know that if we are hungry, we don’t function to our fullest potential and that applies definitely to the kids,” she said, “and it is so important for them to be focused on their education and schoolwork.

“But to think that there are children who do not have any substantial food for the weekend, then being able to provide this to them through this program is a blessing, and we appreciate Reba and her group for making this possible,” she added.

Patrick Long, United Way’s vice president of Community Impact, agreed.

“While sending food home with students on the weekend meets their immediate needs, this program has the potential to have a significant, long-term impact on the children and families that participate,” he said.

“Research consistently indicates that not having adequate nutrition puts children at risk of illness as well as negatively effects cognitive and behavioral development.

“It is our hope and expectation that students who come to school with full stomachs will be more ready to actively participate in the learning process,” he added.

“We are really excited about partnering with the Caring Place to provide nutritious food to children who need it.”

Terry said she is so thankful for the United Way grant to help get this program started.

“ I dreamed the Caring Place could begin a Sack Pack Program, but I was uncertain as to where the funds would come from,” she said. “

In the spring of 2011 our board of directors and I discussed the possibility of submitting a grant to the Bradley Health Endowment Fund, and I’m so glad we decided to apply. I want to thank all involved in approving our proposal, because I know the program will make a big difference for the 200 children who will be assisted by it.”

She also wanted to thank Café Roma for providing sporks for each of the sack packs, and the students at the Trousdale School for volunteering to help package the utensils and napkins for the packs.

To find out more about the Sack Pack Program at the Caring Place, or to volunteer to help pack the bags, contact Reba Terry or Gwen Evans at 472-4414.

Food Bank receives unusual loan

admin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:05:16 +0000

Source: www.nooga.com By: Gabrielle Chevalier

The Chattanooga Area Food Bank recently received a free forklift rental at its new branch location in Northwest Georgia.

The forklift, donated by Barloworld Handling, will allow the food bank’s warehouse to be more efficient by stocking more food more quickly, Holly Ashley, development director for the food bank, said.

The forklift donated for rental by Barloworld. The Chattanooga Area Food Bank is hoping to find a way to have a permanent forklift in their warehouse to increase efficiency soon. (Photo: Contributed)

Ashley said although the gift may seem unusual to some people, it is very exciting for the Georgia branch, which opened in Dalton last October.

“Our warehouse is very much an active, working warehouse,” Ashley said. “We receive some small donations through food drives, but generally the donations we receive are on pallets from trucks.”

As people have become more aware of the existence of the food bank branch, demand has increased, causing the warehouse’s need for a forklift to rise as well, Ashley said.

“We’ve just come up against a wall and realized we can’t continue to do this without one,” she said.

In order to save money for food purchases to help the community, the food bank was waiting to have a forklift donated rather than purchase one, Ashley said.

Ricky Nelson, operations manager for Barloworld, said his company decided to donate the forklift for two weeks to help the food bank until they can obtain their own because he understands if the warehouse needs to purchase one, then money that could be used to buy food for the hungry is taken away.

“We are a company who tries to help the community that we work in,” Nelson said. “We’ve donated lift trucks during the tornadoes. We try to do anything and everything we can because the community we live in gives us our jobs, to some extent. It is about doing what we can and just doing what is right.”

Ashley said oftentimes businesses think if they cannot donate money, then there is not much they can do to help local nonprofits. She said this is not true, especially when it comes to the assortment of items the food bank needs.

“There are lots of other smaller things we need that companies may not realize because most nonprofits don’t need these things,” she said.

Some items Ashley is currently looking for include racking systems, pallet jacks and a large dry erase board, which she said will help organize the warehouse and make it more efficient when distributing food.

For individuals looking for suggestions on how to help the local food bank, food is always appreciated, but so is time, Ashley said.

“If there are professionals out there who want to donate their profession’s services, we would really welcome that,” she said.

Volunteer at our Community Gardens

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:48:30 +0000

Evelyn Davenport Navarre Teaching Garden and Greenhouse Work Schedule:

2009 Curtain Pole Road, Chattanooga, TN 37406
Monday – Friday
9:15am – 11:15am – beginning Monday, Feb. 6th.

Greenhouse and Garden Work Includes:

Propagating from seed and cuttings in the greenhouse.
Preparing for Spring Garden Sale by re-potting, labeling, signage, and plant research.
Garden maintenance includes soil prep, planting, harvesting, bug patrol, and weeding
Prep for workshops and classes conducting at teaching garden

Bill Johnson Community Garden and Greenhouse Work Schedule:

1100 Gateway Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37402
Monday – Friday
Tuesday & Wednesday from 10am – Noon - beginning Tuesday, Feb. 7th

Greenhouse and Garden Work Includes:

Propagating from seed and cuttings in the greenhouse.
Preparing for Spring Garden Sale by re-potting, labeling, signage, and plant research.
Garden maintenance includes preparing garden plots for new gardeners, weeding, and preparing soil.

Please contact Jane Mauldin for schedule your work days. (423) 622-1800 or jmauldin@chattfoodbank.org.

No matter how little or how much time you can give, it all makes a difference in the lives of those who are served by the Chattanooga Area Food Bank.

Information on Salvage Products

admin — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:24:09 +0000

New Sale on Salvage.

$.10/lb on any purchases of four or more pallets of unsorted salvage.
$.15/lb on any purchases of four or more pallets of sorted salvage.

Old Sale still continuing

$.12/lb on any purchases of three or less pallets of unsorted salvage.
$.18/lb on any purchases of three or less pallets of sorted salvage.

Any Questions about salvage contact: Evan Shepard eshepard@chattfoodbank.org
423-622-1800 ext 211 work
423-290-1546 cell

Inventory News 1/12/12

admin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:07:11 +0000

Meat Boxes are on SALE for $1.99 for a limited time. A onetime delivery option is available to agencies that order 120 boxes or more.

Our Chattanooga location now has a CO OP personal bag ($1.87) that contains:

1 Bar Soap
1 Deodorant
1 Shampoo
1 Toothpaste
2 Toothbrushes
4 Razors
2 Rolls of Toilet Paper

Thank You Bank of America!

admin — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:40:34 +0000

You can triple your giving! For every $1 you give to the Chattanooga Area Food Bank, as part of Feeding America’s “Give A Meal” campaign, Bank of America will give $2, up to $500,000 to the Feeding America network. To donate, go to http://www.feedingamerica.org/bankofamerica and select the Chattanooga Area Food Bank when donating.

Junkyard Mafia: Giving as a way of business

admin — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:58:35 +0000

OOLTEWAH, HAMILTON COUNTY, TN (WRCB) – Each year, people in need rely on the Chattanooga Area Food bank to help feed their family.

One local business gives its customers an incentive to donate, extra money back!

“2010 Thanksgiving, we decided to try to do something to give back,” says business manager Jennifer Buckner.

At Ooltewah’s Junkyard Mafia, they deal in a little of everything including recyclables. You take in your aluminum cans, they pay you cash.

So, it only made sense to tie in their effort to help the Chattanooga Area Food Bank.

“Right now, we’re paying 55 cents per pound for aluminum cans. If you bring 5 canned goods, you could get 60 cents per pound,” says Buckner.

Yep, that extra nickel stuck.

“We were just gonna do it through the first of the year, through 2010, and once the holidays were over, we just couldn’t bear to just end it. You know, they don’t just need food during the holidays. It’s year `round,” says Buckner.

In these days when every penny counts like never before, it’s big incentive for customers to grab a few things out of the cupboard before coming in.

A full 20% of customers bring a bag of food these days, a chance to pay it forward.

“I’d like to see other people turn out to do this. I think it’s a good cause,” says customer, Brian Cannon.

Junkyard Mafia has become a drop off point for people who simply want to help the food bank, up to 300 pounds in barrels, collected sometimes twice a month.

Their successful effort has become a permanent part of their business model.

“You’ll always be able to bring canned goods here. You will always be able to make 5 cents more when you recycle your cans,” says Buckner.

Since late 2010, more than a ton, 2,836 pounds, of food has been collected by the Junkyard Mafia.

Channel 3 wants to invite you to give to the Chattanooga Area Food Bank. Our annual Share Your Christmas food drive is Friday, December 9.

We’ll have donations site set up in Chattanooga at the First Tennessee Pavilion, in Cleveland at the Lifecare Center’s Campbell Campus, and in Dalton at the new food bank branch on South Hamilton Street.