Fighting Food Insecurity in Union County: A Growing Community Effort

Back in February 2023, I wrote several articles about food insecurity in Union County and the food pantries available at that time. According to the National Institutes of Health, Union County’s overall food insecurity rate in 2023 was between 16.4% and 16.7%, up from 12% in 2021. The child food insecurity rate in 2023 was 19.8%. These figures reflect the percentage of residents experiencing food insecurity, a condition in which people lack consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life.

Food insecurity has continued to rise in the years since those statistics were released. Feeding America estimates that 3,620 of Union County’s 21,450 residents experience food insecurity. In 2023, WATE-TV reported that approximately 840 children in Union County were food-insecure. Food and fuel prices have increased significantly in the three years since those figures were reported, adding to the financial pressures facing local families.

Statewide and local enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has dropped substantially amid expanded federal work requirements, including requirements affecting some seniors who previously qualified without having to meet work-hour thresholds. In Tennessee, SNAP enrollment fell from 690,560 people in July 2025 to 597,890 in May 2026. This decline has placed an even greater burden on local food pantries.

Organizations Working to Fight Hunger
To provide much-needed relief, numerous organizations offer free food throughout Union County.

Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee, headquartered in Maryville, is a regional hunger-relief organization and a member of the Feeding America network. It supplies many of the county’s food pantries.

Locally, the Fresh Wagon is a mobile food pantry and community outreach program that provides residents with free fresh fruits, vegetables and other nutritious food once a month. The program is a partnership among St. Teresa of Kolkata Catholic Parish, the Union County Health Department, the University of Tennessee Extension Office, the American Cancer Society, Union County government and the Union County school system.

Ten food pantries operate throughout the county on various days and at different times each month (see schedule). Most are run by volunteers from local churches. Some also offer prepared meals on designated days, while others maintain free clothing closets.

Blessing Boxes Offer Another Source of Help
Union County also has a growing number of Blessing Boxes. There are approximately 12 to 15 boxes throughout the county (see list of Blessing Boxes), offering another way for people to access food when they need it.

One example is Miller’s Chapel, which added a Blessing Box to its front porch in March 2025. Since then, this food ministry has grown steadily.

FISH Hospitality Pantries is a nonprofit, interfaith, all-volunteer organization that provides food for more than 7,000 families each month. Miller’s Chapel partners with FISH to obtain supplies for its own Blessing Box and to support other Blessing Boxes and food pantries throughout the county.

Every Monday, church volunteers travel to Knoxville to pick up supplies and distribute them around Union County. When Miller’s Chapel volunteers learned that some teachers were using their own money to purchase snacks for students, they began distributing snacks to local schools. They are willing to help other schools that could use a hand up, too. Schools can contact the volunteers through their Facebook page.

A Refrigerator Filled With Meals
Weigel’s has cooked food that remains safe to eat after its sell-by date but must be refrigerated. To make this food available to people in need, Miller’s Chapel invested in a refrigerator and placed it beside the Blessing Boxes on the church’s front porch.

Volunteers now visit two Weigel’s locations four times a week to stock the refrigerator with prepared food. This effort helps ensure that perfectly good food reaches people who need it instead of going to waste.

Miller’s Chapel volunteers also distribute food to several other Blessing Boxes, schools and organizations throughout the county.

I was told that the volunteers do this work for the glory of God and prefer not to be identified individually. Their efforts speak for themselves.

The Blessing Box of Miller’s Chapel Facebook page is another helpful resource. Every Sunday, volunteers post the upcoming week’s food pantry schedule, along with inexpensive meal ideas, Food City sales and other information that may help families stretch their budgets.

How the Ministry Began and How You Can Help
The idea for a Blessing Box at Miller’s Chapel came from the blue and red boxes at New Start Baptist Church. Those boxes were built by pastor Jeromy Lock’s father-in-law, Roger Cooper. From that beginning, what started as a single box has blossomed into a significant resource for Union County residents experiencing food insecurity.

If you would like to support this ministry and help neighbors in need, you can mail a donation to:

Miller’s Chapel
2719 Maynardville Highway
Maynardville, TN 37807

The church is located across from McDonald’s.

You can also make an online donation.

Nonperishable, shelf-stable items can be placed directly in the Blessing Box, while perishable items can be placed in the refrigerator on the porch. Please do not donate expired or opened items.

If you have a large food donation or know of an emergency need when the boxes are empty, you can send a message through the Blessing Box of Miller’s Chapel Facebook page.

Food insecurity affects people of all ages and circumstances. Fortunately, Union County has caring volunteers, churches and organizations working together to help ensure that neighbors do not have to face hunger alone. Every donation, every volunteer hour and every shared resource can make a difference.