Second Harvest Food Bank

Second Harvest Food Bank’s mission is to lead the community in the fight to end hunger. It is the East Tennessee region’s largest hunger-relief charity, operating programs in 18 counties. The food bank secures and distributes more than 20 million pounds of food and grocery products annually through a network of 630+ partnering nonprofit organizations such as food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters and schools.

Volunteers make all the difference in the success of the food bank, engaging in mission critical tasks like sorting donated items, packing food boxes, aiding in administration, and helping at special events. All volunteers must be at least 10 years old and all volunteers under 16 years old must have a chaperone with them.

The bulk of our volunteer work occurs in the Product Recovery area of our warehouse processing donated and purchased food for distribution. Depending on the day volunteers will 1) sort donated food for agency pantries, 2) pack boxes and bags for mobile distributions, and 3) repack bulk purchased products like beans, granola, or breakfast cereal in our clean room.

Below you will also find opportunities to volunteer at our monthly Mobile Pantry distributions as well. Mobile Pantry volunteers engage with Second Harvest staff to hand out food every week during drive-thru distributions in our 18-county service area.

Throughout the year 21 million pounds of food are distributed from our warehouse providing 17.5 million meals for the 240,000 on average we serve monthly. But this could not be done without community members like you. Additional ways to take action in the fight to end hunger are becoming an advocate, continuing to volunteer, hosting a food drive, sharing your volunteer experience on social media, and donating if you can. On behalf of all of us at Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee, thank you for making a difference in the lives of our East TN neighbors. Second Harvest Volunteers keep hunger at bay every day.