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The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting operations at Sevier County Food Ministries, as it sees increased demand for food assistance and changes the way it operates to meet social distancing guidelines for both workers and those in need.
Sevier County Food Ministries announced it is changing its hours of operation. Beginning Monday, April 6, 2020, the organization will be open from 12 – 4 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. It will remain closed on Wednesday and the weekend.
Note: Sevier County Food Ministries will be closed on Friday, April 10th in observance of Good Friday.
“As we continue to evaluate the needs of our neighbors and volunteers, we have decided it best to renegotiate our hours in an effort to limit contact and number of people in the building at any given time,” the organization said. “We have chosen these opening hours so that we may have a separate times for warehouse and distribution crews, and also to serve our neighbors as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
How to receive food assistance from Sevier County Food Ministries
- Sevier County Food Ministries has implemented a drive around system, in which neighbors stay in their vehicles and enter through the fair grounds.
- Please bring your SCFM ID card, and have it ready to show to expedite the process.
- First time visitors will be directed to where they can sign up for an account. Please bring your photo ID, and social security cards for everyone in the family.
- After checking each family in, volunteers will load groceries into neighbor’s cars.
“We appreciate that so many willing people have reached out to the SCFM offering to volunteer, but we are trying not to over-staff and to limit our personal exposure as well,” SCFM said. “What everyone can do is take care of the people around them, including individuals and families they might not know, and aid those who are becoming food deficient.”
The organization has seen the number of families in need jump to more than 300 per day.
Supplemental food assistance made possible through donations
When the Sevier County Food Ministries signified an impending need in the early winter months of 2020, Dollywood officials created a special Sevier County season pass offer for those who live or work in the county. Season passes were discounted to just $65, with five dollars from every pass sold benefitting the food ministry.
For SCFM Director Jim Davis and his staff, the donation comes at a crucial time. The check, in the amount of $16,445, will help Davis secure additional food for families who will visit in the coming months. In the time since the offer was made available, the demands on the food ministry have drastically increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This food ministry is all about helping people,” Davis said. “The Dollywood Company knows that, and that’s why their leadership has always supported Sevier County Food Ministry. Dollywood is doing everything it possibly can to help their employees and our community during this situation, and this is part of that.
“The food ministry intends to be open and available to those who need supplemental food assistance for the duration,” Davis added. “We all want to get through this, and the sooner the better.”
Carol Agee, Dollywood Community Affairs and Philanthropy Manager, says the opportunity to help so many neighbors during this unprecedented time was the right thing to do.
“We already know the early months of the year are difficult for Jim and the food ministry,” Agee explained, “but none of us knew exactly what was going to happen and why the food ministry’s mission would become even more vital to our community. This donation is a prime example of how Sevier County residents have already been helping their neighbors. It is something we all need to focus on doing right now and this is a great start.
“We normally give Jim a check with an ‘official presentation,’ but this time we followed the social distancing protocol and I dropped it off while remaining in my car. Jim always gives each of us a big hug and thank you when we bring the check. While we didn’t get that this time, the smile on Jim’s face said it all.”
On the organization’s Facebook page, it thanked businesses that recently donated foods and helped meet the increased demand for food assistance in Sevier County.
“So many of our partner businesses have made incredible donations over the last couple of weeks, and our neighbors are the ones who are the beneficiaries,” SCFM said. “Pickup trucks loaded with goodies have been stocking our warehouse with tons of fresh produce, proteins, dairy, bakery items, sweets, snacks and countless other goodies.
“We are always grateful to our local grocery stores for their food rescue donations, including Food City, Kroger, Publix, Walmart and Aldi. They are battling hard to keep stocked during these tough times. Swaggerty’s Farm and Mannon Specialty Foods are also consistenty huge supporters of SCFM.”
Among the BIG recent contributors of food resources have been:
- The Dollywood Company
- Dreammore Resort and Spa
- Harry & David
- Spectra Food Services
- Reinhart Foodservice
- Junction 135 Spirits
- Proof of the Pudding
- Bimbo Bakery/Sara Lee
- Pepperidge Farm
- U.S. Foods
- Cisco
“For all of these donations, SCFM is grateful!”
The organization usually generates funding through sales of donated items to its on-site thrift store. However, due the COVID-19 pandemic it had to stop accepting donations and closed the thrift store until further notice. Anyone who wishes to make a monetary donation can do so on the Sevier County Food Ministries website.
