One in six people experience food insecurity in Memphis, TN, and Memphis is ranked No. 1 nationally in senior food insecurity. Currently, the Memphis chapter has 40+ high school student members. Since our chapter’s establishment, our members have volunteered with various community partners, including Midsouth Food Bank, the Memphis Dawah Association Food Pantry, Church of the Holy Communion’s Recovery Food Feed Hope ministry, First Congregational Church Food Justice ministry, and FeedMemphis initiative of the Memphis Dream Center.
Past Memphis Events
November 27, 2024, Special food gleaning session at Church of the Holy Communion!
Eleven young people worked for the Church of the Holy Communion’s Recover Food Feed Hope Gleaning event. We sorted donations and repackaged food. It is incredible what we young people can do!
November 23, 2024, Collaboration on Crop Drop!
November 23, 2024, Collaboration again on Crop Drop!
On Saturday, November 23, the first weekend of our Thanksgiving break, we participated in the Church of Holy Communion’s Recover Food Feed Hope ministry’s second annual Crop Drop. In this event, 39,765 pounds of sweet potatoes were bagged and distributed to 43 local agencies, who will hand them out to our neighbors. Here is the WREG coverage of this incredible story!
October 16, 2024, Mid-South Food Bank
Some of us are on fall break this week, so we came out to help the Mid-South Food Bank distribute food to a community in need. We distributed fresh cabbage, fresh grapes, and frozen fish. People showed up early to wait in line for the food. We were the only group of volunteers helping! It was cold, so we set up an assembly line to ensure people got the food quickly. We greeted people, handed out forms, gathered and checked forms, bagged food, and handed them out. The sense of relief and gratitude was palpable among the people who received the food. We were again impressed with the food bank’s vital role in addressing hunger and fostering hope and resilience within the community.
October 7, 2024, Church of the Holy Communion
Over 20 members, family, and friends worked for the Church of the Holy Communion’s Recover Food Feed Hope Gleaning event. We sorted donations and repackaged nearly 2000 pounds of food to prepare for donation to partner organizations. This successful event not only helped provide nutritious food to those in need but also fostered a deep sense of connection among participants, who left feeling proud of their contribution to the community. What a meaningful way to start the Fall break!
August 29, 2024, Church of the Holy Communion
It was a relaxing evening at a celebration party at Dr. and Mrs. Boucher’s home for the Church of the Holy Communion Recover Food Feed Hope ministry. The dinner party brought together youth and adult volunteers for an evening of connection, fun, and community building. The Boucher home was warm and welcoming as usual, with rooms beautifully and stylishly set. The house was filled with laughter and conversation inside and out as we bonded over a delicious meal.
July 11, 2024, Church of the Holy Communion
We delivered food for the Recover Food Feed Hope ministry of the Church of the Holy Communion to a community refrigerator at Mullins Station Baptist Church. The refrigerator was nearly empty, but we helped to fill it up.
June 7, 2024, Church of the Holy Communion
We delivered food for the Recover Food Feed Hope ministry of the Church of the Holy Communion and saw two fantastic community outreach initiatives at Sunshine & Daisy and Mullins Station Baptist Church.
May 22, 2024, Mid-South Food Bank
This is how we celebrated the first day of summer! We sorted food donations at the Mid-South Food Bank.
April 27-28, 2024, Church of the Holy Communion
We worked with the Recover Food Feed Hope ministry of the Church of the Holy Communion to bake cookies for families in need this weekend. Busy weekend! We baked 120 cookies.
March 12, 2024, First Congregational Church Food Justice Ministry
Spring Break activity. We prepared lunch for a future event for 150 people. It’s not a fancy church, but it’s a fantastic ministry!
February 28, 2024, First Congregational Church Food Justice Ministry
We hit one of the busiest days of the ministry. They served lunch and provided free groceries. The parking lot was packed. Many people were between government food assistance programs, and we saw first-hand the consequences of a less-than-smooth transition!
February 19, 2024, Church of the Holy Communion
This is how we celebrated the Presidents’ Day! Five team members worked with over ten other volunteers for the Church of the Holy Communion’s Recover Food Feed Hope Gleaning event. We sorted donations and repackaged them. The food packages are now ready to be donated to partner organizations.
January 13, 2024 – Life Church Pop Up Grocery Shop
We were again invited to volunteer at the Pop Up Shop of the Memphis Dream Center affiliated with Life Church. We served the earliest shift of the day. There was quite a rush since we had lots of food, particularly vegetables, to sort through. Everything looked neat when we finished setting up at 9 am. Over one hundred families would receive free groceries.
January 8, 2024 – 382 Tillman Refrigerator
We helped the Church of the Holy Communion deliver food to 382 Tillman refrigerators. People were looking for food there when we delivered food, so we felt good for making a difference.
December 21, 2023 – Mid-South Food Bank
We have come full circle and ended our last service event in 2023 at the Mid-South Food Bank. We sorted and resorted food today. It was the first day after semester exams and the first day of our winter break. Twelve members participated, including two college and professional students who came home for the holidays. It is incredible how much food the local Walmart and Kroger donated. We were told there is still more need from the community than before the pandemic! We are grateful for the opportunity to help!
December 19, 2023 – First Congregational Church Food Justice Ministry
We finally got an opportunity to volunteer at this famed place. What a precious place to serve the community!
December 9, 2023 – Pop Up Shop in Christmas season!
It is the most wonderful time of the year! We were invited to volunteer at the Pop Up Shop of the Memphis Dream Center affiliated with Life Church. We were part of the setup team. It was a cold day, but people quickly started sweating because we worked hard to prepare the shop before shoppers came at 9 am. Over one hundred families would receive free groceries. We worked at team green peppers and team potatoes. We were tired but proud!
November 18, 2023 – Collaboration on Crop Drop!
On Saturday, November 18, the first weekend of our Thanksgiving break, we participated in the Church of Holy Communion’s Recover Food Feed Hope ministry’s Crop Drop. This is a massive partnership between their organization and the Society of St. Andrews, Tennessee, and Project Green Fork Memphis. Kudos to our sister organization, The Alliance of Youth Leaders in the United States (AYLUS; https://aylus.org/greater-memphis-tn/), for joining us upon our invitation. Over 40 parents and young volunteers from AYLUS came to join us. We repackaged 40,000 lbs of sweet potatoes into ten lb. bags and redistributed them to other feeding agencies and neighborhood food distribution sites. Over 140 volunteers came together as a family on this day, giving thanks for what we have and helping those less fortunate.
November 11, 2023 – Memphis Dream Center
Another inspiring day! We participated in the Pop Up Shop of the Memphis Dream Center affiliated with Life Church. Hundreds of families received the well-needed free grocery. Enough said!
October 12, 2023 – Church of the Holy Communion
What an exciting Fall Break service activity! Fifteen members came out to help with the Church of the Holy Communion’s Recover Food Feed Hope Gleaning event. Meals were prepared, donations were sorted, cooked, and packed, and dishes were cleaned. Friends had a wonderful time working together!
October 9, 2023 – Church of the Holy Communion
Eight members worked with the Church of the Holy Communion’s Recover Food Feed Hope Gleaning event during the Fall Break. We helped the organization prepare 100 meals to deliver to its partner organization. We also delivered the food to Dorothy Day House!
October 6, 2023 – University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Six members joined the UTHSC Campus Police in the Faith & Blue Community event. This event results from a partnership between UTHSC Campus Police, local churches, other law enforcement agencies, and community groups. This initiative was started in 2020 and was aimed to foster a unified community. We promoted our organization and partner organization, the Church of Holy Communion’s Recover Food Feed Hope program. Food and personal items were distributed to attendees.
September 26, 2023 – FeedMemphis program of Memphis Dream Center
We joined the FeedMemphis Warehouse Team at Life Church today. We organized pallets for the red bag prep later that week. We lifted cans, sorted snacks, and loaded DoorDash vehicles to deliver the red bags to needy children. Hundreds of red bags are prepared and distributed here every week. We contributed to one step in this feat!
August 3, 2023 – Memphis Church of the Holy Communion
Seven members joined the Church of the Holy Communion’s Recover Food Feed Hope Gleaning event again. We helped the organization prepare 200 weekly meals for delivery to its partner organization.
July 27, 2023 – Memphis Church of the Holy Communion
Five members joined the Church of the Holy Communion’s Recover Food Feed Hope Gleaning event. This organization works with community partners to repurpose food into meals, which are then provided to partner organizations that directly serve the local population with food insecurity. We gathered to help the organization prepare 200 weekly meals for delivery to its partner organization.
June 17, 2023 – Memphis Dragon Boat Festival
In coordination with the event organizer, we promoted our organization. Five members participated in the event, and ten were interested in our organization.
June 2, 2023 – Memphis Union Mission
Four families of a total of 11 people participated in Friday Family Night on June 2. We helped to serve dinner to approximately 200 people.
April 7, 2023 – Membership increases greatly; service at Memphis Union Mission
This month, we had a membership drive and significantly increased the membership. During the Easter weekend, five members volunteered at Memphis Union Mission, Memphis’ primary service provider to the homeless since 1945. The activity we participated in was “Family Friday Nights!” when small families and small groups of individuals help serve dinner at the Men’s Emergency Shelter every Friday night. Working with approximately 20 volunteers, we served dinner to almost 300 men.
March 18, 2023 – Memphis Dawah Association
Two members worked with a Midsouth Food Bank partner, the Memphis Dawah Association, at their Food Pantry. We sorted, packaged, and handed out free food to 300-400 families, along with other approximately 15 volunteers. This organization is in Whitehaven, the largest neighborhood in South Memphis. It is a predominantly African-American community.
January 16, 2023 – MLK Day Service
Eight members joined the Mid-South Food Bank as we honored the service of Martin Luther King Jr. by performing community service. We rose early and worked four hours at the National Civil Rights Museum. We collected food donations from hundreds of people visiting the museum.
November 23, 2022 – Memphis Hungry Turkey
Memphis Hungry Turkey 5k run on Thanksgiving morning in Downtown at the Memphis Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid. It was to benefit the Mid-South Food Bank. Around several hundred people participated in the race. We have four people volunteered for the events from 7 to 11 am. We handed out doughnuts, water, and medals, and provided directions.
