SPRING HILL, Tenn. (WTVF) — As grocery prices continue to rise, more families are turning to local food banks for help. The Well Outreach in Spring Hill recently underwent renovations to better serve the community.
Cheryl Voorhies — who has been visiting The Well Outreach for over a year — understands the challenges of making ends meet.
“You could have a good job, but you have to pay all your bills, and by the time you get done, it’s either gas or food,” Voorhies said. “It helps me with food because the price of food is so high, and I have custody of six grandkids.”
Voorhies, who prioritizes her grandchildren's needs over her own, expressed her appreciation for the assistance.
“I got hamburger meat. There is cereal,” she said while shopping.
The Well Outreach CEO, Shelly Sassen, noted the growing demand for their services — especially among senior citizens.
"Senior citizens have to decide if they want to pay for their medicine or buy food. The cost of groceries and housing has increased, and families can’t get by like they used to,” Sassen said.
To meet the rising demand, The Well Outreach recently refreshed its facilities.
“We’ve built new pantries, painted, refinished the floors, and closed down for a week to make these updates,” Sassen said.
The Well Outreach, which serves over 22,000 local families every year, operates two food pantries, including one in Mount Pleasant. They also provide mobile food giveaways and weekend meals to children at 31 local schools.
"We were serving about 2,500 families a year. Went into Covid doubled that year and now The Well Food Ministry is serving over 22,000 local families every year through our two food pantries," Sassen said.
If you would like to support or volunteer at The Well Outreach, there's more information here.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at aaron.cantrell@newschannel5.com
Forrest Sanders recently introduced us to a Nashville hero named Eudora Boxley. She was the first black woman to have a cooking show on TV in Nashville. Her grandson was precious describing Eudora and how she raised him and how proud he and the family were of her impact not only on WLAC but on a city during the turbulent Civil Rights Era. A woman who did extraordinary things at a time when history did not expect her to.
-Amy Watson
