Community Replenishes Food Pantry for National Day of Service

National Day of Service Volunteers Stock Food Pantry

You might not know that around 240 families depend each month on the quiet little East Tennessee church to help them make ends meet.  But volunteers distribute canned, boxed and even frozen foods on a regular basis.  Grace Lutheran opened its doors this past weekend so the entire Oak Ridge community could help stock its ongoing food pantry ministry.

The effort was one of many projects happening around the country for the National Day of Service.  Inspired by the nation's First Family and in honor of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, the Saturday emphasized the need for everyone to volunteer.

Grace Lutheran food pantry organizer Bill Lever was encouraged to see new faces from outside the church showing up to help.  Senior citizens brought food, teenagers unloaded boxes, and children decorated treat bags to be distributed later along with the food.  

If you'd like to support the year-around food ministry at Grace Lutheran Church, you can reach them via their website.  Lever said the church helps families from outlying Anderson, Roane and Morgan Counties in addition to city residents.

After the Inauguration, much of the political wrangling in this country will continue.  Yet, basic needs like hunger in our own communities will often be met because of generosity by people like National Day of Service volunteers -- like you.