Help Combat Food Insecurity with PORCH Chattanooga
Introducing PORCH Chattanooga
Welcome to PORCH Chattanooga, an arm of PORCH Communities, an organization that is passionately committed to addressing food scarcity by feeding families in the Greater Chattanooga area. This grassroots organization, which began its journey in Chapel Hill, NC led by Christine Cotton in 2010, has made remarkable strides by expanding its reach to an impressive 10 states.
PORCH Communities takes pride in collaborating with volunteers to host district-wide food drives once a month. These drives facilitate the collection of non-perishable food items along with monetary donations generously contributed to aid local food pantries. Astonishingly, in 2023, the mission-driven organization amassed a whopping 1.3 million pounds of food donations, a feat achieved with the support of over 2,000 eager volunteers.
Expansion into Tennessee
Enthusiastically expanding its footprint, PORCH Chattanooga, the organization’s first branch in Tennessee, was recently inaugurated by Anne Rico. A former resident of Atlanta, Rico has actively participated in PORCH’s efforts prior to her relocation to the Scenic City. She felt compelled to build a chapter in Chattanooga, confident that the locals would extend their support wholeheartedly.
“I wanted to start a branch here in Chattanooga,” Rico noted. “I believed that the residents of Chattanooga would warmly embrace this initiative and contribute their precious time and resources.”
Christine Cotton, the passionate founder, voiced her excitement on this expansion, “PORCH Communities is delighted to welcome PORCH Chattanooga to our rapidly evolving network. We eagerly anticipate arousing a spirit of volunteerism as we amplify our endeavors in Tennessee.”
Partner with PORCH Chattanooga
As part of its growth strategy, PORCH Chattanooga, which started operations in March of this year, is actively in pursuit of volunteers and food pantries to form collaborations. The volunteering process is as uncomplicated as signing up to leave out a bag of food on your porch monthly. Collecting food from the porches or delivering the food to the local food pantry requires a commitment of just three hours a month.
“I challenge everyone to personally experience PORCH by participating in the food collections because I understand the immense impact of getting involved, even in the simplest way,” Cotton urges.
PORCH Chattanooga is making an earnest appeal for recommendations for local food pantries that could benefit from the collaboration. Once a food pantry forges a partnership with PORCH, a list of the pantry’s most needed items will be shared, triggering the preparation for the monthly food drives.
To remain informed, please follow PORCH Chattanooga on its newly launched Facebook page.
All this wonderful activity is concrete news of hope for Chattanooga. With PORCH Chattanooga, we can all play our part in waging a war against food insecurity.
