Office of Hispanic Ministry leads food drive for families impacted by separation
The East Tennessee Catholic
The Diocese of Knoxville and its Office of Hispanic Ministry held a food drive June 12-14 to support immigrant families impacted by detentions and deportations of loved ones.
The Hispanic Ministry Office established a drop-off point for donated food and other goods at the Diocese of Knoxville Chancery, where food and necessities were collected from people throughout the area.
Specifically, the food drive sought rice, beans, cooking oil, salt and sugar, flour, powdered milk, pasta, bottled water, baby diapers, toilet paper, fruit, vegetables, corn tortillas, eggs, chicken, and hot dogs—all items that can be stored—for distribution in East Tennessee.
“The donated food was to support immigrant families who are facing fear and separation. We want to share love and hope with our neighbors in need,” said Blanca Primm, director of the Office of Hispanic Ministry.
Volunteers assembled the donated items into boxes, which were distributed in counties where the separation of families has been acute.
According to Mrs. Primm, the volunteers distributed food boxes to 60 families in the areas of Knoxville, Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg.
“Due to the increased number of families being separated, our Office of Hispanic Ministry took the initiative to spearhead a food drive for families who were left behind without a breadwinner and are lacking economic resources to pay their bills. That is why we felt we needed to call the community to help these families in need, and especially in need of food,” Mrs. Primm said.
She noted that it was especially important to transport the baskets to those in need since many of them do not have transportation.
Cliff Stallworth, Maria Gonzalez, Blanca Primm, Tabitha Mecklenborg, and Rocio Melendez unload food and other necessities for the food drive. (Photo Bee Goodman)
“After the uptick of detentions in Sevierville and seeing the great need, we wanted to contribute and share the hope and love of Jesus Christ with these families. We wanted to share with them that we are with them, the Church is with them, and we care and love them,” Mrs. Primm said.
The food drive was a gift to the families in need, and the Chancery was an ideal location to receive donations, assemble the boxes, and work together to distribute them. The baskets included cards for every family expressing the community’s support for them, reminding them that they are not alone and that many people in the community are praying for them. Mothers with tears in their eyes were grateful to the volunteers for delivering the food boxes to their homes. Mrs. Primm said the food was given to families from all faiths.
Different faith communities in the area participated in the food drive.
Bingham Graves of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Knoxville was glad to volunteer for the food drive, saying her church has a class for members to learn more about immigration.
“I know something about immigration from my church, Westminster Presbyterian. It is time for people to stand up and do something. I was really glad to be part of the food drive,” Ms. Graves said. “It was incredibly successful. I felt so proud that we were doing something tangible to help.”
“We are grateful for the participation of people of different faith communities who through the multifaith clergy alliance network were able to learn about the food drive and volunteered their time and also brought donations,” Mrs. Primm said.
“We had very generous families who also provided funds to purchase food so that we could complete our comprehensive list of various products that made up a food box, including rice, beans, a whole chicken, eggs, onions, tomatoes, milk, fruit, cooking oil, pasta, and other nonperishable items that are must-haves for families with kids,” the Hispanic Ministry director added. “It is great when we as Christians and children of God work together. People of all ages were able to help this happen.”
[Top photo: The Food Drive for Separated Families provided food baskets to 60 East Tennessee families. The drive was sponsored by the Diocese of Knoxville Office of Hispanic Ministry. Above front row, Blanca Primm and Rocio Melendez of the diocese, and Rev. Mark Lampley of Sequoyah Hills Presbyterian Church fill food boxes. Back row, Magdiel Argueta of the diocese, Jacky Mejia of Catholic Charities of East Tennessee, and Bingham Graves of Westminster Presbyterian Church also volunteered. (Photo Bill Brewer)]