Bells church helps families with Easter meals as food bank demand rises

BELLS, Tenn. — Knee Temple Church turned its parking lot into a drive-by pickup line to help families put Easter dinner on the table.

Volunteers from the church and Owens-Corning Fiberglass in Jackson loaded boxes with a ham and all the trimmings so families could have an Easter meal.

“We’d seen families that were in need, and we were able to meet that need and we was so proud as a giving church, we fill that from the pulpit to the street,” said Arthur Brown, a pastor at Knee Temple Church.

Rising costs push more families to seek help

The food for the giveaway was picked up at Feed-the-Needy in Memphis and brought back to Bells.

While events like this help families through the holidays, food bank leaders say the need is not letting up. They say higher costs are pushing more people to ask for help, including some who have never needed it before.

“To check in on their neighbors, and find out what their situation is, like don’t always assume that people are you know doing well, and we have a lot of challenges going on right now, like I said prices are going up across the board everything from household utilities to fuel for your vehicles, to housing costs, to food costs,” said Reginald Alexander.

Mid-South Food Bank encourages people who can donate food, time, or money to look out for neighbors who may be quietly struggling.

Knee Temple Church shares meals every Easter as well as Thanksgiving.

People experiencing food insecurity can call the USDA National Hunger Hotline at 1-866-3-HUNGRY or text 914-342-7744 to find food assistance in their community.

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