Food, Glorious Food!

WOW! We just don't know how to put it into words! The last few days have been amazing!! The bad news...... well there was a little flood in the "warehouse" (really just one side of the building) last Thursday. To make that just a little more exciting, we were preparing for a BIG food drive sponsored by the employees of Blount Memorial Hospital. The food was scheduled to be picked up and delivered at the warehouse on Friday..... Yikes! Board members and our landlord stepped in to "save the day" and a professional company was hired to clean up the water and dry things out so that the food drive could go on! Great job everyone!

We don't have a final count yet of the poundage from the BMH food drive just yet, but we know it was more than 6000 pounds and more than $700.00 was also donated! The food looks great! Lots of peanut butter, canned meats, baby food, veggies, and dry goods. Foods that will really help feed our clients well! We know that different departments from the hospital were competing against each other but we aren't sure just which department won yet. The Springbrook Wellness Center also participated! Lots of people and lots of food!

The weekend was just beginning! On Saturday Dr. Watt's Chiropractic Clinic brought in 93 bags of food collected from patients in lieu of their charge for the day! Fabulous! What a great blessing and such an awesome gift for the CFC! ......... And still the weekend rolled on...... there was a surprise visit (we are still trying to figure out who the donor was) from a truck (that means around 1200 pounds) filled with food.

Sunday seemed to be a good day for the churches who regularly donate foods. On Monday Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church donated 46 bags of food and Logan's Chapel United Methodist brought in quite a few pounds as well. There may have been others and after checking the donation book we will update you on those.

Whew! By Monday at Noon we had made a little headway sorting and shelving these wonderful foods and you could almost see the floor again! Grocery carts and tabletops were completely full and there was much left to be done. BUT food drives were still underway! Foothills Elementary School collected and sent in 1400 pounds of food! Hooray! Middlesettlements Elementary Schools sent in 50 boxes and 25 bags of food! Applause, applause!

Just when you thought there could be no more food, a friend showed up. Of course he was drafted to help sort and make order! When he realized that while we were still giving out turkey and fixings we had run out of pumpkin - off he went to talk with his neighbor and his wife. Pumpkin to the rescue! Our Wednesday clients will not be left out of the pumpkin part of their Thanksgiving extras! Thanks! You know who you are!

Once again, a reminder that we live in one of the best communities ever! There is much to do, food to sort, "thank yous" to be written, pounds to add ( I mean like math, not the putting on weight kind) and most of all clients to be served. What a pleasure to work with volunteers who so willingly give their time and energy (it sure takes a lot of that) to make sure that hunger is not overlooked.

This food will last a while, but it is going out at a rapid pace. In the last three days of operation we have seen more than 280 clients. We are guessing that between now and Christmas visits will increase as families feel the pinch of the economy and the holidays. We have made progress and that is great, but there is still much to do and there are still hungry folks out there that need our help.

Keep us in mind as you decide what to do with those last minute charitable donations. It is our mission to feed the hungry and we will remain true to that with our every effort.

More to come as details emerge!