THE CHURCH
The Avenue in Talbott, Tennesse
THE CHALLENGE
The Avenue Dream Center struggled to manage its food distribution.
ONE BIG IDEA
Partner with a local food bank to tackle area food insecurity.
Four years ago, The Avenue, located in Talbott, Tennessee, wanted to collect and distribute fresh food to those in need at its Dream Center, which also offers resources and information about housing, jobs and more. But according to Matt Burton, The Avenue’s director of outreach and community engagement, sourcing and obtaining enough food to meet the demand proved difficult. And often, the church found itself with an abundance of donated expired food.
“It was labor intensive sorting through all the cans and making sure we were giving a good product to our community,” Burton says.
So, to access fresher groceries, they turned to Second Harvest Food Bank for help. Through Second Harvest, the center began ordering food from the food bank’s website.
“Just recently, we were able to get 1,200 turkey breasts, and it didn’t cost us anything,” Burton says.
Additionally, Second Harvest operates a food rescue program where Dream Center volunteers can regularly pick up meats, vegetables and desserts at Walmart for free. Moreover, each week Second Harvest delivers food donated from Publix Super Markets and Sam’s Club to the center.
The Dream Center also partners with other area agencies to promote its food giveaways.
“We have a good social media team, a robust website and, once a month, I go to a local meeting of nonprofits, and we discuss and compare resources and events,” Burton explains.
One such event is Second Harvest’s “Pack the Bag” campaign where Dream Center volunteers help fill bags with beef sticks, cheese sticks, yogurt and other food for local school children.
Burton says the various food drives give volunteers opportunities to minister to visitors. He recalls praying with one young mom of four who arrived at the center, wringing her hands.
“She needed someone to tell her, ‘Hey, we’re here. You’re not alone,’ and invite her to church, and pray with her. I felt like the Lord had given me something to share,” he says, adding that helping others is what drives him to do outreach. “It’s being able to meet people at their point of need.”
