MANCHESTER, Tenn. (WTVF) — The rising costs that have come from inflation have had a major impact on many families. One woman tells us that also takes a toll on the places that exist to serve others.
"We help feed the people who are hungry," said Fay Jones, executive director of the Good Samaritan Food Bank in Manchester. "There are unfortunately a lot of people who are hungry here in Coffee County."
Some of the food's bought from Second Harvest, some is from donors and businesses.
"Good Samaritan is a Christian organization," Jones said. "God wants us to help our fellow man, and I feel like it's a calling."
Jones said the little orange building that holds Good Samaritan serves about 750 families every month. She said they're seeing a major increase in demand.
"We have almost twenty new families come to us a month, and that's a lot more people," she said. "When COVID hit, the need for our help just rose exponentially. So many people have lost their jobs."
Inflation is also putting people in harder circumstances.
"The demand on all this different food is tremendous," said Jones. "There's a lot of people in this county who need help, and they're your neighbors."
Jones is hoping to see more money donated.
"We have better buying power for the dollar than the average citizen does, because we can buy without tax, and we can buy in bulk," she said.
As for specific items, Jones is looking for donations of essentials that can't be bought with food stamps in Tennessee. That includes soap, shampoo, and toilet paper.
"My dream is that one day, we roll up our big garage door and get ready to open and not one car shows up because there's no more hunger in Coffee County," Jones said. "That's my dream."
