NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Sitting down to dinner with plenty of food to go around is a luxury for some. Peggy Evans knew that.
And it is why her life's work was to make sure people had enough to eat in her Wilson County community.
She recently lost her battle with cancer, but her family is making sure her legacy lives on.
“This whole barn here was the original warehouse,” Benny Nolen, Peggy’s son-in-law.
About 26 years ago, Bob and Peggy Evans planted a seed of hope in Lebanon when they started Joseph’s Storehouse Food Ministry.
“When Brother Bob and Miss Peggy first started the work, literally, she looked at her checking account. They had $300,” Nolen said.
The couple was determined to help those struggling to put food on the table.
“This room here was filled with banana boxes on the floor. If you can imagine the bending over of trying to get all the food in those boxes,” Nolen said.
With grocery prices on the rise, the number of families asking for help has increased drastically.
“We’re averaging between 800 and 1,000 families a month that we’re feeding at this point,” Nolen said.
Nolen and his wife, Lisa, took over the ministry not long after Bob died, and Peggy got sick.
Peggy died last week, not long after celebrating the ministry’s 25th anniversary.
“She is where she’s wanted to be for some time, and that was to see Jesus face to face. We smile about that, yet there’s a void in our lives because she’s not here,” Nolen said.
The Evans may be gone, but they made a difference in thousands of lives.
“We’ve all had challenges in our lives and times we’ve struggled,” Nolen said.
Nolen wants to make sure all the couple’s sacrifices weren’t for nothing.
“I don’t want to say too much; I get emotional,” Nolen said. “The sacrifice that the couple made to see the works they planted... the sacrifice of money, time, [and] friends who walked away because of the decision to go in a different direction.”
Nolen and his team will continue to stay true to their calling by making sure the work the Evans planted continues to grow.
“I hear that every month from somebody: ‘We could not make it without this place.’ I am humbled by that, number one, but what a responsibility we have,” Nolen said.
The ministry gives out food monthly and is always looking for volunteers. For more information, click here.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at aaron.cantrell@newschannel.com
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