CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – United Way of the Greater Clarksville Region has put together a Farmers to Families event at 1 p.m. on Oct. 21 in First Baptist Church’s preschool parking lot at Hiter and Commerce streets.
This event is a result of a partnership between Carolyn Watson, Director of the Cumberland Baptist Disaster Relief Team, and the United Way of the Greater Clarksville Region along with City of Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts, Stewart County Mayor Robin Brandon, and Houston County Mayor Paul Bailey to provide more than 1,200 food boxes to local families in need.
Food boxes will be available to 600 Clarksville families on a first-come basis at the Oct. 21 event. The remaining 600 food boxes have been alloted to Houston and Stewart county families.
“We are grateful to have the opportunity to partner with Farmers to Families as a resource to our community,” said Valerie Guzman, CEO of United Way of the Greater Clarksville Region. “This includes our neighbors in Houston and Stewart counties who have equally been affected by COVID-19. Being good neighbors is the united way.”
As restaurants, hotels, and other food-service businesses have been hurt by COVID-19, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) partnered with national, regional and local distributors to purchase $4 billion in fresh produce, dairy and meat products. These products are packaged into family-sized boxes and distributed through local food banks, community and faith-based organizations, and other non-profits.
The Farmers to Families Program contacted Carolyn Watson who then partnered with the United Way of the Greater Clarksville Region to ensure enough resources for a successful event. Local mayors were contacted for support for the event.
"The pandemic continues to stress families in our community with food and income insecurity,” Mayor Pitts said. “These food boxes are lifelines for folks in need during these uncertain times. When approached by the United Way about their event, I was happy to send some of our people their way to help out. I thank the United Way of the Greater Clarksville Region for leading the way to meet community needs."
Since the program began on May 15, the Farmers to Families Food Box Program has provided more than 106 million boxes for families in need because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For more on the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, go to https://bit.ly/3lRIk87
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MEDIA CONTACT
Henry Kilpatrick
Communications Specialist
City of Clarksville
931.648.6109 (Office)
henry.kilpatrick@cityofclarksville.com