The Town of Smyrna collected 42,066 non-perishable items in the annual Christmas Food Drive to benefit Nourish Food Bank.
The annual food drive historically culminates with the Town’s Christmas Parade. COVID-19 caused the Town to cancel this year’s parade, but the need for the community to donate food has not diminished.
“COVID-19 has placed a burden on many of our families,” Mayor Mary Esther Reed said. “Nourish Food Bank has seen a significant increase in families asking for assistance. Neighbor helping neighbor resonates with our citizens. We asked our community to join us in making sure that all of our citizens have access to food and basic necessities and our community answered that call.”
In addition to the Christmas Food Drive, Smyrna Fire Department collected 59,284 items for Nourish Food Bank during the 19th annual “Firefighters for Food” food drive. This total exceeds last year’s total by over 19,000 items!
Chief Bill Culbertson envisioned an opportunity to rally Smyrna Fire Department (SFD) personnel around a local cause during the Holiday Season. The department knew the Smyrna-La Vergne Food Bank (now Nourish Food Bank) was struggling to meet the increased need for food donations during the Thanksgiving Holiday in 2002. Lt. Burt Wilson volunteered to champion the effort, and has continued to do so every year.
“We appreciate the trust our citizens place in us to serve and protect them every day,” explained SFD Chief Bill Culbertson. “SFD personnel believe that part of that commitment to serve includes doing our part to make sure all of our citizens have enough to eat.”
The efforts of both food drives netted 101,350 items for Nourish Food Bank this year!
“Our entire community is the beneficiary of both food drives,” noted Hercules. “No family should experience hunger or food insecurity. On behalf of the Town of Smyrna, I would like to extend a heart-felt thank you to everyone who donated this year.”