Council Generates Tons of Food for Soddy-Daisy Food Bank

Last November the Chamber’s Soddy-Daisy/North Hamilton County Council raised enough funds to purchase over four tons of food for the Soddy-Daisy Food Bank during the Council’s first annual Harvest Food Drive.

"I believe that we probably collected an additional ton in non-perishables," said Mindy Benton, owner of Meals by Mindy and coordinator of the drive. "Many thanks are owed to our member businesses who acted as drop-off points, the Soddy-Daisy City Hall for allowing us to use their facilities, the board of directors of our council for taking on the project whole-heartedly, and most importantly the citizens of Soddy-Daisy who really pulled together to make a difference to those in need."

Benton pointed out that Soddy-Daisy’s American Legion Post, the Vietnam Veterans and the Soddy-Daisy/North Hamilton County Council each donated funds that will purchase 1,000 pounds of food, or a ton and a half altogether.

Benton said the council hopes to make the food drive a twice-a-year event in the community. "We are in the process of planning a spring drive and will repeat the Harvest Drive next fall," she said. "We hope to have even more local businesses partner with the Chamber in the future to make the drives a huge success each and every time."

Food Bank Office Manager Bobby Radford said the agency’s client base has grown from 380 families in January 2008 to 423 in December. "We are experiencing a growth rate of five to seven families each week," he said. "The situation is likely to grow worse for an ever-increasing number of families as jobs are lost and hours of work are reduced.

"The food we received from this first Harvest Food Drive will allow us to continue uninterrupted service as we have done since 1989. There have been times when our shelves have been close to empty; however, our community has never failed to support us."

The Soddy-Daisy Food Bank is located at 255 Depot Street. Donations are always welcome. For information about the agency contact Radford or Food Bank Chairman Gene Elliott at 423-332-2325.

The Soddy-Daisy/North Hamilton County Council meets the third Thursday of each month at City Hall, 9835 Dayton Pike. An informative speaker is featured at every meeting, as well as networking. Lunch is served for $10. For more information about the council contact Benton at 423-605-4480.