FAQ

A household experiences food insecurity when its members lack consistent access to enough food to live a healthy and active lifestyle. In America, 1 in 10 households experience food insecurity, yet 30% to 40% of America’s food supply goes to waste. We seek to intercept food before it goes to waste, while it is still good to eat, and redirect it to our neighbors in need.

We are based in Franklin, Tennessee and currently serve areas throughout Middle Tennessee, North Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle through our mobile pantry and throughout the southeastern U.S. through our disaster relief efforts.

You can view all our upcoming Mobile Pantry dates and locations on our Mobile Pantry Calendar.

You can volunteer at our Mobile Pantry or in our Tennessee warehouse. No registration is required to volunteer at our mobile pantry. To book a volunteer opportunity in our warehouse, visit our Volunteer Page for more details.

We give every car the same amount of food to start — one full grocery cart — to ensure everyone in line gets some food. However, if anyone would like to drive through the line a second time to receive more food for another household, they may do so. We ask each family to respect everyone who comes to receive food and not to take more food than they need.

The rain certainly won’t stop us! If there is lightning, ice, snow, or a severe storm warning, we will post updates on our social media channels. Check our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages for the most up-to-date information.

You can check out our home delivery program, The Doorstep Pantry. Also, if a friend or family member with a car is willing to drive to our Mobile Pantry on your behalf, we would be happy to load them up with groceries for you.

You can check our Mobile Pantry Calendar to view this year’s dates and locations. We are always looking to expand into new areas as we plan next year’s calendar, so if we do not currently serve in your area, feel free to send us a message requesting on behalf of your city.

Visit The Doorstep Pantry web page to find out if your home is within our service area and to request a delivery.

Homes within our service area may receive a delivery through The Doorstep Pantry once per week. We deliver food on Fridays, and registration for every Friday closes by noon the prior Thursday (i.e. signups that take place on a Friday will not be delivered until the following Friday).

We organize disaster relief campaigns throughout the southeastern U.S. as we are able. If your city needs assistance, please send an email to contactus@onegenaway.com, and we will look into your situation!

Yes! All of our current disaster relief trips and volunteer information are posted on our Disaster Relief page. If we have any carpool or group travel opportunities available, a signup link will be posted there as well.

We can always use help in our warehouse! Feel free to sign up as an individual, family, or group on our Warehouse Calendar. Volunteers can bag loose food items, such as pasta, rice, and beans; pack Emergency Food Boxes or bags for The Doorstep Pantry; write notes to our neighbors receiving food, and more.

All you need to do is show up! Check out our Mobile Pantry Calendar for date, time, and location information, and come join us. This is a great opportunity for individuals, families, and groups!

Absolutely! We have plenty of opportunities for kiddos to serve at our Mobile Pantry and in the warehouse. No registration is required to volunteer at our Mobile Pantry, and families can sign up to volunteer in our warehouse on our Warehouse Calendar.

All volunteers under 18 years old must have a parent or guardian sign our Volunteer Release Form prior to volunteering at our warehouse. All volunteers under 16 must have an adult supervisor with them at all times.

Food rescue is the process of recovering excess food from grocery stores, restaurants, caterers, farms, and more while it is still viable and healthy and giving it to our neighbors in times of need. There are several reasons food might get thrown away while it is still good (about 30% to 40% of America’s food supply goes to waste), and it is our mission to intercept that food and quickly redistribute it to individuals and families experiencing food insecurity.

The answer is almost always no. There are a multitude of reasons food may be thrown away, including overproduction, overstocking, labeling errors, and more. Another reason is that a food item is approaching its expiration date but has not yet passed it. In all these cases, we seek to rescue that food and get it to someone who could use it as soon as possible.

In some cases, we may receive some expired products that are still good to eat (according to the USDA, expiration/use-by dates are not required by law and do not necessarily reflect the safety of a food item but rather the date before which that product will be at its highest quality). We wish to honor our neighbors, so we never want to serve spoiled foods. When an item is past its “use by” date, we examine its texture, color, and smell to determine its viability.

Feel free to visit our Donate page to set up a one-time or recurring donation. Thank you so much for your support!

We accept donations of unopened, non-expired food items at our Tennessee warehouse at 320 Premier Court, Suite 218, Franklin, TN 37067. Our hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday. Feel free to drop by and drop off your items!

Absolutely! Please address any donations to One Generation Away, and mail your check to 320 Premier Court, Suite 218, Franklin, TN 37067. Thank you for your support!

You can donate funds to our efforts in Tennessee, Alabama, or Florida by visiting our Donate page and selecting the respective option from the dropdown menu on the donation form. Thank you for your support!

We have plenty of sponsorship opportunities! Please visit our Donate page to view recurring opportunities. To sponsor an event or create a new sponsorship, please contact our director of development, Elaine Whitney, at elaine@onegenaway.com.

Our Partnering Agencies are able to make regular visits to our warehouse to receive food for the individuals and families they serve. To apply to become a Partnering Agency, contact our director of operations, Scott Lucas, at scott@onegenaway.com.

We would love to work with you to host our Mobile Pantry! If you have a large, open paved lot and would like to host our Mobile Pantry, please reach out to us at contactus@onegenaway.com and let us know! Please include any date(s) you would prefer and the address of your location.

We love working with local organizations to better serve our community! If your organization would like to partner with us at one of our Mobile Pantry distributions, please email us the date(s) you would prefer and your partnership ideas at contactus@onegenaway.com.

All our financial documents are available at the bottom of our Donate page.