Kara Hunkele

At West Park Baptist Church, the Knox Haven Bread of Life (BOL) Store mimics a grocery store in nearly every sense, apart from visitors paying for their items. The folks they serve even receive an itemized receipt, helping them plan financially for whenever they’re ready to graduate from the pantry. The newly remodeled pantry’s layout was inspired by The Store, a pantry and nonprofit in Nashville founded by Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams-Paisley. Like The Store, Knox Haven’s BOL Store goes beyond traditional food assistance, offering other types of care that target root and accompanying challenges of food insecurity. We are proud to have had this pantry as a Hero Partner for the last 10 years! Continue reading as we share more about Knox Haven’s Bread of Life Store in an interview that occurred just days before their grand reopening.

Did you know May is Food Allergy Awareness Month? Although this is annually recognized, a new Second Harvest sub-program to further aid our neighbors with dietary restrictions, stemming from our recent research developments, has made this year’s Food Allergy Awareness Month even more pertinent. Continue reading as we talk all about this new sub-program, titled the Allergy-Friendly Pantry Initiative, and tips for how you can help — backed by the telling results of our recent community needs assessment.

Did you know April is Volunteer Appreciation Month? At Second Harvest, we could not be more grateful for our volunteers, who contributed a total of 30,942 volunteer hours in this past fiscal year — the equivalent of nearly 15 additional full-time employees! Plus, in our current fiscal year, our volunteers have already packed enough food to create ONE MILLION MEALS. This April, we’d like to recognize Lisa Burkett, one of our regular warehouse volunteers, as our 2025 Volunteer of the Year. Continue reading as we share more from Lisa about her involvement with Second Harvest, gathered by interview.

March is National Nutrition Month®, and this year’s theme, “Food Connects Us,” highlights the powerful role that food plays in bringing people together. From learning how to prepare nutritious meals to exploring different cultural traditions, food is more than just fuel — it’s a way to share experiences, build relationships, and support overall well-being.

As Food for Kids reaches its 22nd anniversary, we’re more bittersweet than celebratory. The positive impact the program has had on East Tennessee children is without question, but the fact that the number of hungry children continues to rise is heartbreaking. That’s why from now through February 22nd, we’re asking the community for support to help us Pack the Bag to meet the growing need. Because the growing pains of childhood shouldn’t include hunger.