In partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee and Callahan Baptist Church in Knoxville, Of One Accord Ministry distributed ‘loads’ of food to 250 local families in September. Second Harvest continues to receive COVID-19 relief funds to provide critical assistance to families in our region through their partnering agencies such as Of One Accord Ministry.
This was the second time we partnered with Second Harvest to distribute food this summer. We are hoping to host another food distribution in Hancock County later this fall.
Melanie Henry, volunteer staff at Of One Accord Ministry, knew she’d need a lot of help to distribute the food to 250 families. Henry said, "Callahan Baptist Church in Knoxville called asking if they could do a mission project up our way and the dates were perfect matches. When the day arrived, traffic was lined up all the way down the street three blocks away. But approximately 25 volunteers helped to load the food boxes, produce, milk and bread that each family received.
Last year, Of One Accord Ministry provided Hawkins & Hancock County residents with a record setting 1,589,773 pounds of food. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are seeing a dramatic uptick in the amount of food being distributed each week. Sheldon Livesay, agency director said, "food assistance has been one of the state's essential services just next to healthcare during COVID. Of One Accord has modified some services to protect workers and clients but has been fully operational during the COVID-19 pandemic."