JARRETT GOODMAN
Staff Writer
Staff members within Marion County’s Builtwell Bank branches have recently made a major donation of funds and canned goods to the Marion County Community Ministry food bank.
Trey Chance, Robert Kelly, Joyce Burkhalter, as well as other Buitlwell Bank staff, donated over $22,000 in funds and around 2,000 canned goods as part of the company’s yearly Tailgate-a-Palooza food drive. The food drive is done every September to October, and all funds and goods raised are donated to a branches’ local food bank to help support the local community.
In the wake of the ongoing government shutdown halting all food stamps and benefits for residents under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), both Chance and Sherry Barnett of the Ministry food bank felt the donation provides major support during a new and ongoing food crisis. Barnett, President of the food drive, expressed great appreciation for the large donation of funds and goods sent to the organization by Builtwell Bank. She felt the donation significantly benefits the program on their mission to provide food to families in need during a time of uncertainty. In recent times alone, the food bank distributed 185 boxes of food in a single day, a record set to be quickly broken during the current cuts in food benefits.
“It’s a very big year for us, and we expect it to grow even more between now and the first of the year,” said Barnett.
Sherry noted that many residents across the county depend upon the benefits and food stamps provided by SNAP, the federal cutbacks taking a large toll on those supported by it. Marion County’s more rural setting alongside its poverty rate of near 20% also adds a greater level of demand for food during the ongoing shutdown. However, the food bank alongside local businesses, churches, schools, and government bodies have all recently come together in support to provide food to families in need within the community. The large amount of support stems from a major drive to ensure no resident in the community goes hungry during the shutdown.
“We are not funded by any state or federal funding. We are all volunteers and we rely on city organizations, churches, businesses, individuals and schools. That’s where we get our food and our donations,” said Sherry.
The Marion County Community Ministry food bank can receive donations online through mccmfbgn.org, as well as physically at 300 Cornerstone Drive in Jasper and P.O. Box 681, Sequatchie, TN 37374. For additional questions regarding financial and food donations, contact the food bank at 423-942-9556. Sherry and others of the food bank thank all local business, churches, schools, civic organizations, and the county government for supporting them during the ongoing shutdown, as well as since 1996.