Chattanooga Area Food Bank – Feeding Families One Meal at a Time

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The Chattanooga Area Food Bank is working hard to help Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia to help with hunger.   One in eight children in Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia doesn’t know where their next meal will come from.  Now is the time to act.

 Supporting the Chattanooga Area Food Bank can make a difference in so many families to provide nutritious meals and other services.   Your donations help to stock the shelves and fund the different programs provided.  Every little bit helps.  Donate money, donate food, volunteer, or host a food drive.  

 

Making Donations – What’s Really Needed

This photo shows some of the top items which are always requested.  

Here’s a quick list for donation ideas:  

Canned Food

• Soups & stews
• Fruit
• Vegetables
• Fish and meats
• Beans
• Pasta sauce

Pantry staples

I always think about what I use weekly, and think it’s something others will use. 

• Flour
• Sugar
• Cornmeal
• Cooking oils
• Herbs and spices
• Pasta – including whole grain
• Rice – white, brown, wild
• Jelly
• Tea & coffee
• Crackers
• Powdered Milk

Condiments

Peanut Butter

Formula and baby food

Frozen turkeys and hams, under 10 pounds

What not to donate:

• Anything requiring refrigeration, including produce and meats
• Expired Foods
• Leftovers, anything homemade, including baked goods
• Opened packages

A few more hints and ideas about donations:

• Pop top cans
• All meat and poultry must be frozen unless it’s canned
• Hams and turkeys must be 10 pounds or less (frozen)
• Cornish game hens are good (frozen)
• Single serve sizing items are always needed
• Something you might not think of – can openers are always welcomed as a donation
• Don’t forget the condiments
• Baby and personal hygiene items

As you are doing your grocery shopping, pick up a few extra items to donate.  I think about purchasing two of things:  one for me, one for the food bank.

CASH is king for donations.  Although all donations are appreciated, you can make a donation of cash, which goes a long way.

Did you know?  

$1 helps provide groceries for three meals

$25 helps provide groceries for seventy-five meals

It’s easy to donate – do it online.  You can make it a one-time donations, or set it up for monthly  HERE

 

Take a Tour of the Chattanooga Area Food Bank

I recently took a tour of the warehouse and the distribution center.  This really does open your eyes on the amount of food and products which passes through them.

The warehouse is that.  It is where all of the donations come into then are distributed to not only the Chattanooga distribution center on Wilcox Blvd, but to schools on Fridays for take home snack bags, to food pantries, and also to the food bank in Dalton, GA. 

This 40,000 square foot warehouse is staffed, but about 80% of all workers are volunteers.  You can volunteer, or bring a group in.  There was a class from a local school working the day I was there.   The warehouse had a lot of products, but didn’t look overly full on that day.  Products are going out just as fast as soon as it comes in.  My tour guide said if no other donations came in, it would be empty in 3 – 4 weeks.  That’s a lot of food.

There’s even a garden to grow as much as possible.

 

At the distribution center, you won’t find the same products every day.  This totally depends on the donations, but you will normally find some staple items, many which come from local retail stores.   The day I visited I saw blankets, paper products, and lots of candy (this was right after Halloween).

Any resident of Tennessee or Georgia can pick up a box every 30 days.  An ID is required.  But you aren’t just given a box.  You will be able to “shop” from the available products. 

Helping the community – every month.

You will start seeing some of the typical holiday type foods available soon.  There’s also specialty boxes for Diabetics and baby items, including formula and diapers.

There are also emergency boxes which can be picked up in an outside locker as needed.

 

Being a Part of Feeding America

Being a member of the Feeding America network, the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States, gives The Chattanooga Area Food Bank many benefits and resources including:

More access to food resources in bulk – they use their buying power to negotiate discounted prices for large quantities of food from distributors, farmers, and manufactures.  An example is purchasing a pallet of vegetables for only about $.22 a can where it sells in a store for up to $2.00.  All is still perfectly good.

Food sources – this can include surplus government programs, large company donors, and local grocery stores. 

Working with Feeding America, the Chattanooga Area Food Bank can increase their impact and provide more food and services to those in need in the Chattanooga area.

To learn more about Feeding America, find it HERE.  Not in the Chattanooga area, find your local food banks through Feeding America HERE.

 

Share Your Christmas – Their Largest Fundraiser

This is the 40^th Anniversary of Share Your Christmas with WRCB-TV.  They will be broadcasting live in Chattanooga, Cleveland, and Dalton on December 13^th.

For more information  HERE.

 

Community Day at CAVA

This restaurant recently opened two locations in the Chattanooga area.  Each day before their Grand Opening, they host a Community Day.  This gives their new staff a little training in working with real customers (a free meal is provided) but also, accepting donations for the Food Bank.   We love their food and their sense of giving to the community they are coming to.

CAVA will match up to $1000 at each Community Day.

 

Will You Help the Chattanooga Area Food Bank ?

I hope you take this as a personal invitation to help the Chattaooga Area Food Bank, or a find a food bank in your area.  Donate from the list above, or with your cash donation.

I’m glad our apartment complex helps the Food Bank with a food drive for residents to donate.  So easy to drop off a few things.  

 

For more information on how you can help the Chattanooga Area Food Bank, with donations, your time, or to learn more with a tour.  CHATTANOOGA AREA FOOD BANK

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