Clarksville, TN – Several Clarksville food relief agencies are stepping up to help people who lost food supplies during the weekend’s power outages.
The City of Clarksville Office of Housing and Community Development, which helps provide resources and homeless services, is working with the Community Action Agency, Loaves and Fishes, Manna Café Ministries and Urban Ministries to coordinate the effort.
People in need of food because of spoilage during the power outages should make direct contact with one of these participating agencies:
Community Action Agency
Community Action has a supply of non-perishable canned meats, vegetables and fruits. The agency is state-funded so clients must be prescreened for eligibility for USDA commodities.
People in need of food should contact Community Action from 8:00am to 4:00pm, Monday-Friday at 931.896.1800 for an interview to determine eligibility and identify needs. Then the client can pick up a food box at the agency’s offices at 150 Lafayette Road, Clarksville.
Loaves and Fishes
Loaves and Fishes operates a Soup Kitchen that serves meals from 10:30am to noon Monday-Saturday at 215 Foster Street in Downtown Clarksville. It also has a Food Distribution Center that distributes food to churches and agencies helping the needy.
People who are in need because of the power outages are urged to call Loaves and Fishes at 931.645.9020 from 8:00am-11:00am, Monday-Saturday and discuss their needs. The agency then will put together a custom order that can be picked up by 1:00pm at Loaves and Fishes. Supplies on hand include canned goods, dry goods and breads.
Manna Cafe
Manna Café Ministries serves people in need in Clarksville-Montgomery County through a soup kitchen on wheels, food box distribution, and other vital resources.
A special Mobile Pantry geared to people who lost food in the power outage will be from 10:00am to 4:00pm Saturday at 605 Providence Boulevard. This will be a drive-through operation, where clients can enter, fill out an application, and then have volunteers place a food box in the vehicle.
Food boxes include items such as boxed and canned goods, fresh produce, dairy, beans, rice, meat and bread.
“This is a disaster-relief type effort,” said Kenny York, Manna Cafe Ministries founder. “Second Harvest, our partner in Nashville, has agreed to provide an extra allocation to help people who lost supplies during the power outages caused by weekend storms.”
Volunteers who want to help at Saturday’s Mobile Pantry can register by email at volunteers@mannacafeministries.com
Urban Ministries
People in need of food can go to Urban Ministries main office at 217 South Third Street, Clarksville, from 8:00am to noon Monday-Friday.
“In this case, there will be no income verification. People can just let us know they need food, and we can help,” said CC Carmack-Wheeler, executive director of Urban Ministries. “We have good supplies on hand, and we are reaching out to see if local businesses can increase our reserves for this special need.”
