Grassy Valley helping feed area needy
“We are trying to get the word out,” said Jerry Massey, a deacon at Grassy Valley and food pantry director.
The pantry, which runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Thursday, came about after much prayer by church members.
“I was in a bad wreck about two years ago, and I’ve been at home a lot — and I just kept thinking about it,” Massey said. “The Lord put it on my heart and the heart of several other people here.
“When we decided to go for it, not only did we have all kinds of volunteers within the church, but the church got behind us as well,” he added.
It’s a response to “seeing a world, or a country, in dire need,” Massey said. “Our community, in itself, in this area that we are, we see a lot of homeless, and with the pandemic that’s affected every aspect of our lives.
“I just know there’s a lot of people that just the basic necessities are going to be hard to come by, such as food and personal hygiene,” he added.
When he went to church leaders with the idea to have a food pantry, “I said the Lord put this on my heart, and they said, ‘OK, you’re the director.’’’
Grassy Valley has a menu of items its members give out,” Massey said. “We do milk and bread right now.
“When someone comes in, they give us information on their family, special needs that they may have, and we try to supply as much food for them as we can, depending on the number they have at the house.”
The pantry is in alliance with Compassion Coalition of Knoxville.
Anyone in need is eligible to receive food and other items. “We don’t have a lot of requirements,” Massey said. “They just have to be in need.”
However, recipients are asked to bring their driver’s license, supply the last five or six digits of their Social Security number and their address. “There’s a program called Charity Check, and we try to enter everything into that,” Massey said. “That’s just a network of like ministries that, kind of, keep up with things.
For more information about the pantry, call 865-773-0116.
