Blog
The helpers could leave. But sometimes they stay.
Becky knows most everyone in Waverly. As she volunteered at our mobile food pantry, she was cutting up all day with the volunteers and those receiving food.
From two stocked fridges to a mobile food pantry
Before the flood in Waverly, Carmen had two freezers and two refrigerators full of food. Now, she comes to our mobile food pantry in clothes she received from a disaster relief center.
Why ‘no questions asked’ is vital in service
Volunteer Tim points out a critical part of service: Maybe love is best shown when we trust that, if someone asks for help, they need it.
“Why are our arms closed to some?”
For Chuka, service is not only driven by his faith but also by the realization that he is part of a community that cannot thrive without people working together for the good of one another.
When God shows up in a cuckoo clock
Not many stories about God begin with a cuckoo clock, but Anne’s does.
God gave me hope in a bag of grapes
God is certainly in the big moments, but something about his small blessings communicates such abundant love.
OneGenAway raises $217K at Million Meal Spring Breakfast
The Middle Tennessee community raised a record amount for One Generation Away at our largest fundraiser of the year!
St. Philip Catholic Church donates $20K to OneGenAway
Three clergymen walk into a food warehouse and drop off a $20,000 check. Sounds like the set up to a joke, but it is an incredible and humbling truth.
The last place you thought you’d be
At OneGenAway, each day of service is another day of encountering people in places they never thought they’d be, people who feel separated from the rest of the world. But we were never meant to be alone. Right?
How health labels can create barriers to nutrition
Which is a healthier meal: two apples or mac and cheese? What if it’s organic mac and cheese and a non-organic apple? What if the mac and cheese contains GMOs?
When you take a study break to serve your community
Sabrina and Nicole are currently in the throes of college application and self-exploration, but they took the time on a Saturday morning to come serve with OneGenAway.
To give up, or to start again
We met James when he stepped out of the porta-john at our distribution site and declared, “Man, that was a terrible elevator.”
Every home was impacted, even if it wasn’t flooded
“My son had to go in the house that they rented [out] and wake the people up because they was asleep, and the baby was asleep in the living room, and it had water around it already.”
It wouldn’t be Saturday morning without Karen
If you’ve volunteered at a distribution, you’ve probably seen Karen volunteering with her grandkids.
When one becomes four overnight
Peggie had no idea she’d have three kids this year.
Six months after the flood
You don’t see the wreckage in Waverly until you’re surrounded by it. As you drive the hilly roads into the city, the buildings seem to be in pretty good shape until you dip into a valley, where there are hardly buildings at all, just piles of drywall, insulation, and belongings that no longer belong to anyone.
When one accepts a call to serve
Laura came to our mobile food pantry to receive assistance, but while she waited in line, she felt a pull to volunteer as she waited for her groceries.
“I don’t usually accept handouts, but …”
“I don’t usually accept handouts, but …” This is how many people who have received food from us begin their conversations with me.
Drop in SNAP leaves gap in food assistance
You’ve got a 20 dollar bill, and a month’s worth of groceries to shop for. What do you do?
Making space for the helpers and those in need of help
As we begin 2022, we’re starting to see the need for food rise and nonprofits being pushed out. Some of the organizations we work with are losing their facilities and are in jeopardy of permanently closing down, which would obviously leave gaps and holes for the people we serve.
When a food pantry is threatened
The news is outside filming The Little Pantry That Could as it struggles to chug along. The camera man doesn’t come inside. He stays on the other side of the street. “Somebody has put this on the news,” Stacy says, frantically shaking her head.
Local singer-songwriter donates tips to OneGenAway
Actions speak louder than words, but a good word surely doesn’t hurt.