Let’s give a shout out to the heroes who drive trucks, stock the warehouse, and fill orders so our neighbors don’t go hungry

Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee is no stranger to disaster relief. We mobilized during the Nashville-area floods of 2010 and we are still providing food to counties hit by the tornadoes in March of this year.

Whereas most disasters warrant an “all hands on deck” response, marshaling every resource to push food into the community, the COVID-19 pandemic requires a different approach.

Many of our employees are currently working from home to help flatten the curve. But as a designated first responder and an essential business during this crisis, we have a responsibility to serve our community, which is why a skeleton crew of essential employees is now hard at work creating hot meals, ordering food, pulling orders, loading trucks, and delivering food where it’s needed most.

“Every day is different out here,” says John Edmundson, Senior Transportation Lead and Second Harvest driver for 15 years. “I’m just trying to live out the mission, serving our Partner Agencies in the ups and the downs.”

The hard work of these essential employees is the reason we can remain open and serving the 46 counties we support. They are the ones who ensure that potential SNAP beneficiaries have everything they need to apply for this critical service. They create the meals that help keep children fed while their schools are closed. They lead the volunteers who sort and pack food. And they deliver the nutritious foods that keep our communities healthy and better able to fight off infection.

“The situation changes hourly during a crisis,” says Frank Ellmo, Second Harvest’s Senior Director of Operations, “and we’re dealing with two at the moment – tornado response and COVID-19 support. Everyone from our transportation team, warehouse crew, and Volunteer Engagement is working hard to keep food moving to the community. We know the stakes.”

During this time when we’re all learning how deeply we depend on people who work behind the scenes, we just want to say a special THANK YOU to our employees, donors, and volunteers who keep the food bank running. We could not Feed Hope without you.