Chattanooga Area Food Bank - "Serving Hope" - 2021 Summer Newsletter

Serving Hope SUMMER NEWSLETTER | 2021

Inside This Issue Donor Spotlight:

The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga Page 2

Employee Spotlight:

Our Operations Team

Page 3

“We thank you a lot”

Jackie, Bryan and Shantelle

Volunteer of the Quarter: John Hilbrandt Page 4

Page 4

Your support helps us “Move the Food” to communities in our 20-county service area.

Continued on Page 3.

Featured photo taken pre-COVID-19.

Dear Friends, Summer has arrived and school is out in Southeast TN & Northwest GA! For many though, no school means no school lunch. For 1 in 6 children in our region being out of school brings empty bellies and unhappy summers.

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. Bill Buchanan WRCB-TV Mercedes Bartow 370 Consulting Group President Jennifer Cookston Baylor School Matt Evans Rock Bridge Church Megan Flynn Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Phil Harris Kelly Auto Group Morgan Hopkins Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Peterson Hostetler UBS Financial Services Frank Hughes SmartBank Betsey Kirk McCall Seven States Power Corporation Rachael Sauceman Associate Board Chair, Full Media/Head of Strategic Initiatives Celeste Bandy Weaver Ringgold Telephone 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

Five-year-old Brayden is excited for a break from school and to play with his four-year-old sister. But, he knows it also means he won’t be able to eat free breakfast and lunch in the school cafeteria.

Mom, Samantha, works long hours at a local restaurant, but still struggles to make ends meet. And that means food is sometimes scarce in her house.

Especially in the summer when she has to provide even more for Brayden and his sister.

Moms, just like Samantha, are counting on us every week to help them with missing meals that were provided by school.

Together, we are here for our children who face hunger when school meals are not available. With our network of Community Partners, we provide hungry children with nutritious and easy-to-prepare food. In addition to our Mobile Pantries and Produce Pop-Ups, that provide healthy and fresh produce for the entire family.

Together, we can nourish children with an empty belly- and provide a brighter future and happier summer for children in Southeast TN and Northwest GA. Thank you for partnering with us.

With Gratitude,

Melissa Blevins President and Chief Executive Officer

Donor Spotlight:

The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga We are incredibly grateful to partner alongside the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga to make life-changing impact on the individuals and families we serve, and to support our front-line staff to keep them healthy amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Employee Spotlight: Operations Team The Chattanooga Area Food Bank serves 20 counties in Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia. Keeping these counties healthy and nourished throughout the COVID-19 crisis has only been possible thanks to our 23 Operations staff members who physically handled approximately 70.8 % of the 14,147,532 total lbs. distributed from July 2020 to March 2021. The Operations Team is responsible for the logistics of food procurement, order preparation, fulfillment of orders for our partner agencies and programs, and delivery/distribution of the food. They are the strength and muscle of the Food Bank!

They are true heroes, willing to do anything to help out the communities we serve.

They move the food.

Our Operations Team is also responsible for maintaining 56,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space in 3 different locations in 2 states, in the safest manner possible.

• Truck Delivery - 48% • Agency Pick-up - 13.9% • Emergency Food Box Distribution - 8.9% • Food Rescue Retail Program - 24.4% • Direct Donor Delivery/Fresh Milk Program - 4.8%

They moved food that provided

11,789,610 meals!

In addition, they manage the retail partnerships with 87 stores in our 20-county service area. They also procure 14,927,313 lbs. of shelf stable goods, fresh produce and dairy while maintaining inventory accuracy of 98% with minimal waste at 2%.

Our maintenance department-which includes a staff of two-is responsible for a fleet of 17 trucks, vans and cars.

Our Operations Team is an invaluable part of the Food Bank’s mission to end hunger in our communities.

They are the heart of the Food Bank.

Your Support Gives Hope to our Neighbors Facing Hunger When Jackie lost her waitressing job last April due to COVID-19 she turned to the Chattanooga Area Food Bank to help make ends meet and put food on the table—for herself and her two children, Bryan and Shantelle.

By visiting the Chattanooga Area Food Bank, Jackie can provide nutritious food, including fresh fruit and vegetables, for her children. Now Bryan and Shantelle don’t have to worry about being hungry and can just focus on being kids this summer.

“This is really appreciated,” Jackie says to everyone who supports the Chattanooga Area Food Bank and makes healthy food possible for her family. “We thank you a lot.”

Through your donations to the Chattanooga Area Food Bank, generous neighbors, like you, have provided thousands of families in Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia with nutritious food and a foundation to build strong, healthy lives.

Without your help, children like Bryan and Shantelle would not have access to the food they need to help them grow up heathy and strong.

Thank you for giving families hope for a brighter tomorrow.

Volunteer of the Quarter: John Hilbrandt John Hilbrandt started volunteering at the Food Bank in July of 2019. He would volunteer in the mornings and walk or ride his bike on the Riverwalk when finished.

“Then they gave me my volunteer t-shirt with the words – Each hour is equal to 92 meals - it changed my outlook.” The more he learned the more he enjoyed being part of the Food Bank. “This is an amazing place!” He has now volunteered over 380 hours!

fall in addition to his sorting duties in the warehouse.

“Being a volunteer is very rewarding, and I always try to talk to people I have contact with about either using the services or volunteering. I just hope I am physically able to help out for many more years.”

“I have gotten to know many fine folks who are both dedicated employees and volunteers.” John also began helping with sack pack deliveries in the

We are grateful for committed volunteers, like John, who help us help our community.

Partner Agency: Abounding Grace Abounding Grace Ministries is a partner agency of the Food Bank located in Dayton, TN. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, they had two choices: close down and protect their staff from exposure or operate as safely as possible to continue providing food to their friends and neighbors. They chose to assume the risk and continue operating their weekly food program.

The individuals being served grew from 85 per month to between 200 & 300. They also converted their

fellowship hall into a food pantry and are using the space to be sure they can continue to have a supply of food for the wonderful people in Dayton who turn to them for help.