Serving Hope HOLIDAY NEWSLETTER | 2021
Inside This Issue Volunteer Spotlight: Christalee Crary Page 2 Community Partners: Page 3 Donor Spotlight: Linda Brock Page 4 Employee Spotlight: Bob Stone Page 4
“Working hand in hand with community partners, like East Side Church of Christ, we are making holiday meals possible. Together, this holiday season, we are bringing hope to those in need.” Continued on Page 3.
A Letter From Melissa President and Chief Executive Officer
Board Of Directors Melissa Blevins President and Chief Executive Officer James L. “Jim” Catanzaro, Jr., Chair Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C. Mercedes Bartow The McCallie School Jennifer Cookston Baylor School Megan Flynn Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Phil Harris Intersign Corporation Peterson Hostetler UBS Financial Services Frank Hughes SmartBank Maeghan Jones Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga Martha Leiper Unum Betsey Kirk McCall Seven States Power Jennifer McIntyre Raymond James & Associates Rob Reagan Text Request Murphy Sauceman BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Tracey Smith Mutual of America Celeste Bandy Weaver Ringgold Telephone Company Daniel Yim Kobayashi Consumer Products, LLC
2009 Curtain Pole Road Chattanooga, TN 37406 (423) 622-1800 www.chattfoodbank.org
Northwest Georgia Branch 1111 South Hamilton Street Dalton, GA 30720 www.chattfoodbank.org
Dear Friends of the Chattanooga Area Food Bank, As we begin to prepare for a bustling holiday season, there are still thousands of individuals and children in Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia facing hunger. This winter, as fixed incomes are already spread thin and the cost of groceries continues to rise, our neighbors are faced with the difficult choice of heating their home or paying for food. We can take impossible choices off the table this holiday season, and give our neighbors – like Jamey & Andrea - the greatest gift of all… hope. Jamey and Andrea were getting by, but then Jamey got laid off. They were able to keep their electricity on, but needed help with food. “The Food Bank gives us a caring feeling. We appreciate all the help,” Jamey tells us. Together, we’re doing more than keeping bellies full –you’re giving families a way to share and celebrate this season. Thank you for being a part of The Chattanooga Area Food Bank family. You’re not only putting food on tables and smiles on faces, but nourishing hope in our community.
With Gratitude,
Melissa Blevins President and Chief Executive Officer
Volunteer Spotlight:
Christalee Crary
Christalee Crary has been volunteering with the Chattanooga Food Bank for many years. For the past three years it has been as the Outreach Coordinator for Chattanooga Crosswalk Church. “Our church believes in walking in the steps of Christ and showing love and compassion for our fellow man by helping in any way we can. The Chattanooga Food Bank is a wonderful organization to partner with because we are able to reach so many people in need”, says Christalee. Their volunteer work includes sorting donated food, preparing food boxes, and helping distribute the food at monthly mobile pantries that the Food Bank does in Hamilton County. She says, “this opportunity to help our community has been such a blessing for our church and individually for the volunteers who have participated”. “Helping families who are struggling to have enough food hits close to home for me. There was a time when I was young that my mother lived day to day worried she would not have enough to feed my sister and I. I know the fear of these families, especially the children. I strive to help others so they don’t have to.” Thank you Christalee for helping us serve our community by volunteering with the Food Bank!
The Community Resource Center of Chattooga County named winner in The Great Pantry Makeover The Community Resource Center of Chattooga County(“CRC”), in Summerville, GA, was recently named a winner in “The Great Pantry Makeover” sponsored by Food Lion Feeds Foundation. They currently provide fresh produce and shelf-stable items to an average of 700 families a month and now they will be able to make an impact on even more families by expanding their services. In addition to their food pantry, the CRC has collaborated with City of Refuge and have moved their operations to now offer housing for young at-risk women and foster care support services. The Great Pantry Makeover has enabled the CRC to purchase an inground scale, tables for sorting and packing food boxes, placement of a concrete pad for walk-in refrigeration, and installing commercial double doors. This will allow CRC to serve more families quicker and more efficiently! We are so proud to partner with the CRC… Together we can end hunger!
Together this holiday season, with East Side Church of Christ, we are we are making holiday meals possible In Cleveland, TN, East Side Church of Christ knew there were families in need, and they wanted to be of service to them- so they collaborated with The Caring Place to bring a mobile food pantry right into the community. After such a successful collaboration, Jake, at East Side Church of Christ, wanted to learn more about how they could partner with the Food Bank to provide food to families in need in Cleveland. This area of East Cleveland, a once thriving community has become a “food desert”, an area with limited access to affordable, nutritious food. East Side Church of Christ has now become one of the Food Bank’s Community partners holding monthly, drive-thru mobile food pantries. Serving an average of 130 households each month, they have served almost 80,000 meals this year. “We want to be a resource for our community,” Gary Jones, East Side Deacon. And a resource, they are! When Cleveland City Schools closed due to COVID-19, the Food Bank coordinated with East Side to make sure those children didn’t miss any meals. The Food Bank was able to quickly hold an emergency mobile food pantry and, with the support of amazing East Side volunteers, provide 157 families with groceries while at home. Every day people in Cleveland are facing hunger. They live in every neighborhood. They are our classmates, coworkers, family, and friends. Working hand in hand with community partners like East Side Church of Christ, we are making holiday meals possible. Together this holiday season, we are bringing hope to those in need.
Donor Spotlight:
Linda Brock
We proudly recognize Linda Brock, Chattanooga Real Estate Agent and Owner of Linda Brock Homes, as our Donor of the Quarter. Donors like Linda make it possible for us to continue to serve individuals struggling with hunger in Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia. When asked why Linda supports the Food Bank she says, “People are hungry. It really is that simple. Everyone should have food and shelter on a regular basis. I am so thankful for the Chattanooga Area Food Bank.”
Employee Spotlight:
Bob Stone
Bob Stone is one of the Food Bank’s truck drivers and has been part of our team for the last 5 years. He makes deliveries to our Dalton warehouse, community partners in both Georgia and Tennessee, and mobile food distributions. Bob greets everyone with a smile and never fails to provide a warm, friendly demeanor. He plans to retire from the Food Bank stating that “it is a great place to work with great people to work with.” It is a pleasure to have Bob on the Food Bank team! Bob is a Veteran of The United States Air Force, has been married to his wife for 37.5 years, has 2 children, 7 grandsons and 1 granddaughter. He says, “I love filling up 1 single pew at church with my entire family”. He loves the Dallas Cowboys, Alabama Crimson Tide, and the Atlanta Braves. When he’s not driving a truck for the Food Bank, he “loves building things, repairing his grandkids’ toys, and traveling to old towns, parks and country settings.” His grandkids’ slogan for him is “if papaw can’t fix it, no one can”.
Upcoming Events • Giving Tuesday 11/30/2021 • Share Your Christmas 12/10/2021 For more information on upcoming events, visit chattfoodbank.org/events.