Here at Hunger First, there are so many greats things we try to do for our friends and neighbors and folks in our awesome Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia Communities. We are way more than just a food pantry. We do feed people and that is an important part of what we try to do. We also clothe people. Sometimes we help them to find places to live. Sometimes we help them with bills and we
help them to obtain the prescriptions that keep them alive. Sometimes it isn't about food or about shelter or basic neccessities. Sometimes people just fall on hard times. Sometimes they are out of work for awhile and they need a little assistance to pay for things. Sometimes they need decent dress clothing for a job interview. Sometimes they need toiletries and things of that nature, just until they get paid for a job they just started. I could give you thousands of scenarios and the next day someone would come in and tell us a new story that breaks our heart and makes us want to get involved. We handle each individual crisis or issue with compassion and we do what needs to be done without judgement. We get to know people. We listen to their stories. We welcome them into the Hunger First family. People in our community need help... Right here... in our own back yard! We do rely on the support of our community to get by. Your gifts make an immediate impact on hunger and so many other issues that plague our community. Financial support lets us distribute nutritious food to areas in need, help people get on their feet and so much more. But there are other ways to get involved! You can always speak for us. You can be an advocate for Hunger First. Word of mouth always goes a long way. Tell your friends and your family how they can help end hunger in their community or tell them how they can help local people who are fighting through whatever personal disasters that may have hit their life. OR you can volunteer. WE LOVE OUR VOLUNTEERS! Volunteers play essential roles in distributing food to our network. Because hunger often is a hidden problem, our perception of who is hungry in our state can be biased. In reality hunger affects a significant portion of our state’s population. It takes a special person with lots of heart and compassion to volunteer for an organization and care for so many. Volunteers also sort out donations of clothing and other goods that we get into the Hunger First Free store. They help with special events and things like our Haunted House in a low income neighborhood in the Fall, or with our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners where we serve the community food and have visits from Santa himself. You can get involved on a personal level. We can always use the extra set of hands and all nice compassionate hearts! Most nonprofits have an unwritten set of rules and criteria they go by to help individuals, and if one does not conform or fit into these, one will be turned away. Some examples of criteria for refusal of help are evidence of an individual being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, display of disruptive behaviors that are common in people who suffer from a mental illness, and expression of a moral difference, just to name a few. At Hunger First, everyone that walks through the door is treated the same, as a human being that needs help.
