In partnership with Tennessee’s five Feeding America affiliates, Tennessee First Lady Maria Lee recently announced that 191,712 meals would be distributed to the state’s 11 economically distressed counties through her Tennessee Serves initiative. The first lady was in Wayne County on Tuesday, June 22nd helping to distribute food boxes at the Collinwood Help Center. Tennessee Serves and Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee teamed up to provide 333 boxes of food, which equals 15,984 meals.
Since its launch in May 2019, Tennessee Serves has worked diligently to wrap around the state’s economically distressed counties. Each month, Tennessee Serves introduces a new challenge to encourage Tennesseans to serve their communities in various ways. In June, Tennessee Serves has focused on serving the hungry and food insecure. According to Feeding America, one in eight Tennesseans face hunger with one in six of them being children.
“Food banks and their volunteer networks are crucial to a community’s ability to care for those who are in need,” said Maria Lee. “We are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to aid those who work around the clock to serve their neighbors and help feed hungry families across the state.”
“The focus on our rural counties is crucial to our work, and we are thankful for this support to provide nutritious food to our neighbors in need,” said Nancy Keil, president and CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee. “We are so grateful for first lady Maria Lee’s commitment to fighting hunger in Tennessee.”
